Hillcrest Firethorn
8601 Firethorn Lane, Lincoln, NE 68520 · Lancaster County · 72 certified beds · avg 64 residents/day · certified since Dec 7, 2017
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★★★☆☆3/5 · CMS overall rating: 4/5
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)
▲ Actual harm, one-off · Feb 20, 2025 · F-0684 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not provide treatment and care that follows the doctor's orders and matches the resident's own preferences and goals.
Why it matters: Care that strays from doctor's orders or ignores the resident's wishes can lead to declining health and avoidable harm.
Severity (G): One or a few residents were actually harmed — physically or emotionally — though not put in immediate danger of serious injury or death.
Corrected: Mar 10, 2025 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
All citations in the current public record (12)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2025 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Apr 1, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not allow residents to take their own medications when a clinical review showed they could do so safely. Residents have this right if their care team determines it's appropriate. |
| Apr 1, 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. · from a complaint |
| Apr 1, 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. |
| Feb 20, 2025 | ▲ G · Actual 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. · from a complaint |
| Feb 20, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not immediately notify the resident, their doctor, and a family member when something significant happened — such as an injury, a decline in health, or a room change. Families and doctors are entitled to know right away. · from a complaint |
| Apr 11, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. · from a complaint |
| Apr 11, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | 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. |
| Apr 11, 2024 | 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. |
| Apr 11, 2024 | 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. |
| May 16, 2023 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. |
| May 16, 2023 | 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. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections stayed about the same across the last two inspection cycles (4 → 4).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | E |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | F |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | G ▲ |
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 | Nebraska avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 4.17 | 4.33 | 3.95 | bottom 45% in Nebraska; top 33% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 0.51 | 0.72 | 0.69 | bottom 24% in Nebraska; bottom 39% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 3.73 | 3.79 | 3.50 | top 48% in Nebraska; top 32% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.39 | 0.47 | 0.48 | bottom 46% in Nebraska; top 50% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 37.8 | 48.7 | 45.8 | top 27% in Nebraska; top 31% in the U.S. |
| RN turnover (%) | 50.0 | 44.1 | 42.9 | bottom 43% in Nebraska; 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 3.89, RN 0.47, weekend 3.48. Staffing rating: 3/5.
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: 5/5 · long-stay residents: 4/5 · short-stay residents: 5/5
Who owns this facility
For profit - Corporation
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillcrest Operating Ventures, LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | 100% | 05/09/2016 |
| Aswege-Mezenberg, Debra | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/01/2023 |
| Hillcrest Health Systems INC | Organization | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/09/2016 |
| Janicki, James | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2024 |
| Janicki, James | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2024 |
| Mulhearn, Kevin | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/30/2023 |
| Mulhearn, Kevin | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/30/2023 |
| Oestmann, Matthew | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2024 |
| Oestmann, Matthew | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2024 |
| Svendgard, Staci | Individual | W-2 Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/05/2023 |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "How do you make sure each resident's care follows the doctor's orders, and what changed after this citation?"
- "What did your most recent kitchen inspection find, and can I see how food is stored and prepared?"
- "If my family member is able to manage their own medications, would you allow it, and how is that decided?"
- "Can you show me how medications are stored and secured on the units, including controlled drugs?"
- "Who leads your infection prevention program, and how do you make sure staff follow practices like hand hygiene every day?"
- "If my family member falls or their condition changes, exactly when and how will I be notified?"
- "How do you identify and arrange specialized services for residents with mental health conditions or disabilities?"
- "Who is on the team that builds each resident's care plan, and how quickly is it in place after admission?"
- "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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holmes Lake Rehabilitation & Care Center | 2.4 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★★☆☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Emerald Nursing & Rehab Brookside LLC | 2.9 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| St. Jane de Chantal | 3.0 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★★★★☆ | 3/5 | |
| Southlake Village Rehabilitation & Care Center | 3.1 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★★★★★ | 4/5 | |
| Eastmont | 3.2 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★★☆☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Ambassador Health of Lincoln | 3.5 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Gateway Vista | 3.7 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Eventide Lincoln Care Center | 3.8 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Eventide Williamsburg | 4.4 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★★★★★ | 4/5 | |
| Sumner Place | 5.3 mi | Lincoln, NE | ★★★★☆ | 4/5 |
Compare this facility with the 3 closest →
Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 285300.