Donalson Care Center
1681 Winchester Highway, Fayetteville, TN 37334 · Lincoln County · 168 certified beds · avg 83 residents/day · certified since Apr 22, 1985
Part of chain: HUNTSVILLE HOSPITAL HEALTH SYSTEM (3 facilities, chain avg rating 3.3★)
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★★★☆☆3/5 · CMS overall rating: 3/5
The health inspection star above is graded on a curve within each state — a set share of each state's facilities gets each star level — so a facility can have few citations and still rate 2–3 stars if others in its state did even better. The overall rating combines that inspection score with staffing and self-reported quality measures.
Most serious findings (actual harm or immediate jeopardy)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, repeated · Jul 15, 2019 · F-0657
The facility did not develop a resident's complete plan of care within 7 days of the full assessment, or the plan wasn't prepared, reviewed, and updated by a team of health professionals as required.
Why it matters: Delays or gaps in care planning mean staff may work without a clear, current roadmap for the resident's daily care and treatment.
Severity (K): A life-threatening or extremely dangerous situation affected several residents. Among the most serious findings an inspection can produce.
Corrected: Aug 19, 2019 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, repeated · Jul 15, 2019 · F-0689
The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls.
Why it matters: This is one of the most common citations and directly relates to falls and injuries, which can be devastating for older adults.
Severity (K): A life-threatening or extremely dangerous situation affected several residents. Among the most serious findings an inspection can produce.
Corrected: Aug 19, 2019 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, repeated · Jul 15, 2019 · F-0835
The facility was not managed in a way that uses its money, staff, and resources effectively and efficiently to care for residents.
Why it matters: Poor administration often shows up as understaffing, supply shortages, and care problems across the whole facility.
Severity (K): A life-threatening or extremely dangerous situation affected several residents. Among the most serious findings an inspection can produce.
Corrected: Aug 19, 2019 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, repeated · Jul 15, 2019 · F-0841
The facility did not designate a physician to serve as medical director — the doctor responsible for overseeing resident care policies and coordinating medical care across the facility.
Why it matters: Without a medical director, there is no doctor accountable for the overall quality of medical care.
Severity (K): A life-threatening or extremely dangerous situation affected several residents. Among the most serious findings an inspection can produce.
Corrected: Aug 19, 2019 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, repeated · Jul 15, 2019 · F-0867
The facility did not run an ongoing quality assurance committee that reviews care problems and creates plans to fix them.
Why it matters: Without a working quality program, the same care problems tend to repeat instead of getting fixed.
Severity (K): A life-threatening or extremely dangerous situation affected several residents. Among the most serious findings an inspection can produce.
Corrected: Aug 19, 2019 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
All citations in the current public record (24)
CMS publishes roughly the last three inspection cycles plus recent complaint investigations. Older surveys drop out of the record as new ones are completed.
| Date | Severity | What the facility was cited for |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not treat residents with dignity and respect, or did not honor their rights to make their own decisions and communicate freely. This is one of the most fundamental resident rights. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not coordinate resident assessments with the state's pre-admission screening program for mental illness and intellectual disabilities, or failed to refer residents for the special services they need. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide treatment and care that follows the doctor's orders and matches the resident's own preferences and goals. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility used feeding tubes without a valid medical reason or the resident's agreement, or did not provide proper care to residents who have feeding tubes. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not label drugs according to professional standards or did not store them in locked compartments, with controlled drugs (medications with a high risk of misuse) kept under a separate lock. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not protect residents' personal information or did not keep complete, accurate medical records that meet professional standards. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Mar 12, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft to the proper authorities quickly enough, or did not report the results of its investigation. · from a complaint |
| Jun 30, 2021 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not keep its building and grounds safe, functional, clean, and comfortable for residents, staff, and visitors. |
| Jun 30, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, including safe support for residents' daily living needs. |
| Jun 30, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not accurately assess a resident's health and needs. Assessments are the foundation for all the care a resident receives. |
| Jun 30, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not coordinate resident assessments with the state's pre-admission screening program for mental illness and intellectual disabilities, or failed to refer residents for the special services they need. |
| Jun 30, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop a resident's complete plan of care within 7 days of the full assessment, or the plan wasn't prepared, reviewed, and updated by a team of health professionals as required. |
| Jun 30, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide the help residents need with basic daily activities — like bathing, dressing, eating, and using the bathroom — for residents who cannot do these things on their own. |
| Jun 30, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide safe and appropriate respiratory care — such as oxygen, breathing treatments, or care for residents on breathing equipment — for residents who needed it. |
| Jun 30, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Jul 15, 2019 | ▲ K · Immediate jeopardy, repeated | The facility did not develop a resident's complete plan of care within 7 days of the full assessment, or the plan wasn't prepared, reviewed, and updated by a team of health professionals as required. |
| Jul 15, 2019 | ▲ K · Immediate jeopardy, repeated | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. |
| Jul 15, 2019 | ▲ K · Immediate jeopardy, repeated | The facility was not managed in a way that uses its money, staff, and resources effectively and efficiently to care for residents. |
| Jul 15, 2019 | ▲ K · Immediate jeopardy, repeated | The facility did not designate a physician to serve as medical director — the doctor responsible for overseeing resident care policies and coordinating medical care across the facility. |
| Jul 15, 2019 | ▲ K · Immediate jeopardy, repeated | The facility did not run an ongoing quality assurance committee that reviews care problems and creates plans to fix them. |
| Jul 15, 2019 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not protect residents' personal information or did not keep complete, accurate medical records that meet professional standards. |
| Jul 15, 2019 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not accurately assess a resident's health and needs. Assessments are the foundation for all the care a resident receives. |
| Jul 15, 2019 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide appropriate care related to bladder and bowel needs — including care for residents who use catheters and steps to prevent urinary tract infections. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections stayed about the same across the last two inspection cycles (8 → 7).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 8 | 5 | K ▲ |
| 2021 | 8 | 0 | E |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | D |
Counts reflect the current CMS public record (~3 inspection cycles plus complaint investigations); years with no surveys show no row. Inspection frequency varies, so compare severity as well as counts.
Fines and enforcement (last 3 years)
No fines or payment denials in the published 3-year window.
Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)
| Measure | This facility | Tennessee avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 3.48 | 3.62 | 3.95 | top 49% in Tennessee; bottom 36% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 0.40 | 0.57 | 0.69 | bottom 25% in Tennessee; bottom 22% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 2.95 | 3.15 | 3.50 | bottom 45% in Tennessee; bottom 29% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.23 | 0.39 | 0.48 | bottom 20% in Tennessee; bottom 17% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 39.1 | 48.9 | 45.8 | top 22% in Tennessee; top 34% in the U.S. |
| RN turnover (%) | 50.0 | 43.2 | 42.9 | bottom 37% in Tennessee; bottom 39% in the U.S. |
Hours are per resident per day, case-mix adjusted by CMS so facilities caring for sicker residents can be compared fairly (same basis as the CMS staffing star). "Top X%" means better than most facilities: more staffing hours, or lower turnover. Raw (unadjusted) reported hours: total 3.74, RN 0.43, weekend 3.17. Staffing rating: 2/5.
Self-reported quality measures
Note: these ratings are based on data the facility reports about itself to CMS. They are not independently verified by inspectors, and can look better than inspection findings. Give more weight to the inspection results above.
Quality measures rating: 3/5 · long-stay residents: 3/5 · short-stay residents: 4/5
Who owns this facility
Non profit - Corporation
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Health Care Authority of the City of Huntsville | Organization | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | 100% | 07/01/2022 |
| Carter, Clinton | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/01/2022 |
| Cobb, Tammy | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 08/01/2023 |
| Hinton, Brad | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/06/2025 |
| Hinton, Brad | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/06/2025 |
| Samz, Jeffrey | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/01/2022 |
| Seals, Mary | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2025 |
| Vance, Jason | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2025 |
| Vance, Jason | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2025 |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "Who is on the team that builds each resident's care plan, and how quickly is it in place after admission?"
- "What is your falls rate, and what specific steps do you take to prevent falls and supervise residents at risk?"
- "What were the findings behind this administration citation, and what has leadership changed since?"
- "Who is your medical director, and how involved are they in day-to-day care decisions?"
- "How does your quality committee work, and can you give an example of a problem it recently identified and fixed?"
- "Can you give me examples of how your staff protect residents' dignity in everyday care, like bathing and dressing?"
- "How do you identify and arrange specialized services for residents with mental health conditions or disabilities?"
- "How do you make sure each resident's care follows the doctor's orders, and what changed after this citation?"
- "What is your current ratio of nursing staff to residents on day, evening, and weekend shifts?"
- "Can I see the results and plan of correction from your most recent state inspection?"
Nearby facilities (within 20 miles)
| Facility | Distance | City | Overall | Inspection | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk River Health & Rehabilitation of Fayetteville | 2.0 mi | Fayetteville, TN | ★★★★☆ | 4/5 | |
| Lynchburg Nursing Center | 12.9 mi | Lynchburg, TN | ★★★★★ | 4/5 |
Compare this facility with the 2 closest →
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Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 445173.