Maine Veterans Home - Caribou
163 Van Buren Rd Suite 2, Caribou, ME 04736 · Aroostook County · 40 certified beds · avg 36 residents/day · certified since Jul 1, 1994
Part of chain: MAINE VETERANS' HOME (5 facilities, chain avg rating 4.4★)
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★★★★☆4/5 · 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 5, 2026 · F-0580 · triggered by a complaint
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.
Why it matters: A family could learn about a serious injury or decline days later, after the chance to act has passed.
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 20, 2026 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
All citations in the current public record (14)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 5, 2026 | ▲ G · Actual 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 |
| Feb 5, 2026 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | 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 5, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop and follow policies and procedures to prevent abuse, neglect, and theft. These written safeguards are the foundation of resident protection. · from a complaint |
| Feb 5, 2026 | 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. · from a complaint |
| Feb 5, 2026 | B · Minimal risk, repeated | The facility did not protect residents' personal information or did not keep complete, accurate medical records that meet professional standards. |
| Jan 8, 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. |
| Jan 8, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not honor residents' right to make their own choices about their daily lives, such as when to wake up, what to eat, or how to spend their time. |
| Jan 8, 2025 | 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. · from a complaint |
| Jan 8, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide enough food and fluids to keep residents healthy, such as preventing unplanned weight loss or dehydration. |
| Jan 8, 2025 | 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. |
| Dec 6, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility used physical restraints — devices that limit a resident's movement — when they weren't needed for medical treatment. · from a complaint |
| Dec 6, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not reassess a resident after a significant change in their condition, such as a sudden decline in health. A full new assessment is required when a resident's condition changes in a major way. · from a complaint |
| Dec 6, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not create and follow a basic care plan covering a new resident's most immediate needs within 48 hours of admission. The first days are when a new resident is most vulnerable. · from a complaint |
| Dec 6, 2023 | B · Minimal risk, repeated | The facility did not give residents (and their representatives and the ombudsman, a state advocate for residents) proper advance notice before a transfer or discharge, including information about their right to appeal. · from a complaint |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections stayed about the same across the last two inspection cycles (5 → 5).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | D |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | D |
| 2026 | 5 | 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)
1 fine totaling $42,320, plus 1 Medicare payment denial period.
| Date | Type | Amount / length |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 5, 2026 | Fine | $42,320 |
| Feb 5, 2026 | Payment Denial | 3 days from Mar 17, 2026 |
Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)
| Measure | This facility | Maine avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 5.71 | 4.60 | 3.95 | top 10% in Maine; top 6% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 1.73 | 1.11 | 0.69 | top 8% in Maine; top 3% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 5.13 | 4.16 | 3.50 | top 8% in Maine; top 5% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 1.03 | 0.73 | 0.48 | top 15% in Maine; top 5% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 28.6 | 46.7 | 45.8 | top 5% in Maine; top 12% in the U.S. |
| RN turnover (%) | 9.1 | 40.2 | 42.9 | top 3% in Maine; top 3% 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 5.13, RN 1.55, weekend 4.61. Staffing rating: 5/5.
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: 1/5 · long-stay residents: 1/5 · short-stay residents: —/5
Who owns this facility
Non profit - Other
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armstrong, Angela | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/20/2024 |
| Armstrong, Angela | Individual | Trustee of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/20/2024 |
| Armstrong, John | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/16/2023 |
| Armstrong, John | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/02/2025 |
| Brawn, Christine | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/20/2024 |
| Brawn, Christine | Individual | Trustee of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 04/20/2024 |
| Brooks, Kevin | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/01/2015 |
| Burr, Heather | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/18/2021 |
| Burr, Heather | Individual | Trustee of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/18/2021 |
| Collins, Samuel | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/06/2022 |
| Collins, Samuel | Individual | Trustee of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/06/2022 |
| Gagnon, Rebecca | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/18/2022 |
| Gardner, Christopher | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/06/2022 |
| Gardner, Christopher | Individual | Trustee of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/06/2022 |
| Genest, Emil | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 10/27/2020 |
| Genest, Emil | Individual | Trustee of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 10/27/2020 |
| Graham, Melissa | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2015 |
| Graham, Melissa | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/24/2025 |
| Jackson, Diane | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/09/2022 |
| Jackson, Diane | Individual | Trustee of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/09/2022 |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "If my family member falls or their condition changes, exactly when and how will I be notified?"
- "Who leads your infection prevention program, and how do you make sure staff follow practices like hand hygiene every day?"
- "What specific steps do you take to prevent abuse and neglect, and how are staff trained on them?"
- "How many residents here use oxygen or breathing equipment, and who checks that equipment each shift?"
- "How do you keep residents' medical records accurate, complete, and secure?"
- "Can you give me examples of how your staff protect residents' dignity in everyday care, like bathing and dressing?"
- "What choices do residents have over their daily schedule, like meal times, bathing, and activities?"
- "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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caribou Rehab and Nursing Center | 1.6 mi | Caribou, ME | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 |
Compare this facility with the 1 closest →
Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 205151.