Merry Wood Lodge
280 Mt Hebron Road, Elmore, AL 36025 · Elmore County · 124 certified beds · avg 99 residents/day · certified since Jan 1, 1974
Abuse citation flag (CMS)SFF Candidate
Part of chain: GENESIS HEALTHCARE (184 facilities, chain avg rating 2.4★)
The abuse flag means inspectors cited this facility for abuse that caused harm to a resident within the past year, or potential for harm in each of the last two years. Source: CMS.
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★☆☆☆☆1/5 · CMS overall rating: 1/5
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, facility-wide · Sep 1, 2024 · F-0835 · triggered by a complaint
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 (L): A life-threatening or extremely dangerous situation existed throughout the facility. The single most serious citation CMS can issue.
Corrected: Sep 26, 2024 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, facility-wide · Sep 1, 2024 · F-0867 · triggered by a complaint
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 (L): A life-threatening or extremely dangerous situation existed throughout the facility. The single most serious citation CMS can issue.
Corrected: Sep 26, 2024 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, one-off · Sep 1, 2024 · F-0600 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not protect residents from abuse or neglect. This covers physical, mental, and sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect, by anyone — staff, other residents, or visitors.
Why it matters: Abuse and neglect cause direct physical and emotional harm and are among the most serious failures a nursing home can have.
Severity (J): Inspectors found a situation that put a resident's life or safety in immediate danger, affecting one or a few residents. The facility must fix it immediately — these citations often come with large fines.
Corrected: Nov 12, 2024 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, one-off · Sep 1, 2024 · F-0607 · triggered by a complaint
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.
Why it matters: Without working prevention policies, mistreatment is more likely to happen and less likely to be caught.
Severity (J): Inspectors found a situation that put a resident's life or safety in immediate danger, affecting one or a few residents. The facility must fix it immediately — these citations often come with large fines.
Corrected: Sep 26, 2024 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, one-off · Sep 1, 2024 · F-0610 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not respond appropriately to alleged violations, such as reports of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment. Facilities must investigate every allegation and protect residents while they do.
Why it matters: When allegations aren't investigated, harm to residents can continue unchecked.
Severity (J): Inspectors found a situation that put a resident's life or safety in immediate danger, affecting one or a few residents. The facility must fix it immediately — these citations often come with large fines.
Corrected: Sep 26, 2024 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Actual harm, one-off · Oct 17, 2024 · F-0600 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not protect residents from abuse or neglect. This covers physical, mental, and sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect, by anyone — staff, other residents, or visitors.
Why it matters: Abuse and neglect cause direct physical and emotional harm and are among the most serious failures a nursing home can have.
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: Nov 12, 2024 (Deficient, Provider has plan of correction)
All citations in the current public record (17)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 17, 2024 | ▲ G · Actual harm, one-off | The facility did not protect residents from abuse or neglect. This covers physical, mental, and sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect, by anyone — staff, other residents, or visitors. · from a complaint |
| Sep 1, 2024 | ▲ L · Immediate jeopardy, facility-wide | The facility was not managed in a way that uses its money, staff, and resources effectively and efficiently to care for residents. · from a complaint |
| Sep 1, 2024 | ▲ L · Immediate jeopardy, facility-wide | The facility did not run an ongoing quality assurance committee that reviews care problems and creates plans to fix them. · from a complaint |
| Sep 1, 2024 | ▲ J · Immediate jeopardy, one-off | The facility did not protect residents from abuse or neglect. This covers physical, mental, and sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect, by anyone — staff, other residents, or visitors. · from a complaint |
| Sep 1, 2024 | ▲ J · Immediate jeopardy, 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 |
| Sep 1, 2024 | ▲ J · Immediate jeopardy, one-off | The facility did not respond appropriately to alleged violations, such as reports of abuse, neglect, or mistreatment. Facilities must investigate every allegation and protect residents while they do. · from a complaint |
| Sep 1, 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 |
| Sep 1, 2024 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not dispose of garbage and refuse properly. · from a complaint |
| Sep 1, 2024 | C · Minimal risk, facility-wide | The facility did not electronically submit complete and accurate staffing information to the government, based on payroll and other verifiable records. · from a complaint |
| Mar 3, 2020 | 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. |
| Mar 3, 2020 | 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. |
| Mar 3, 2020 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have a licensed pharmacist review each resident's complete medication regimen and medical chart every month, or did not follow its own rules for reporting medication problems. |
| Mar 3, 2020 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not try to gradually reduce doses of mood- and mind-altering medications or use non-drug approaches first, as required, or used 'as needed' psychiatric drugs without proper limits. |
| Mar 3, 2020 | 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 3, 2020 | C · Minimal risk, facility-wide | The facility did not post its nurse staffing information every day. Nursing homes must publicly display how many nurses and aides are on duty each day. |
| Dec 13, 2018 | 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. |
| Dec 13, 2018 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop or follow a complete care plan for each resident — the written roadmap covering all of a resident's needs, with measurable goals and timelines. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections increased between the last two inspection cycles (6 → 8).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | E |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | F |
| 2024 | 9 | 6 | L ▲ |
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 $182,968, plus 1 Medicare payment denial period.
| Date | Type | Amount / length |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2024 | Fine | $182,968 |
| Sep 1, 2024 | Payment Denial | 42 days from Oct 1, 2024 |
Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)
| Measure | This facility | Alabama avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 3.56 | 4.43 | 3.95 | bottom 11% in Alabama; bottom 40% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 0.86 | 0.74 | 0.69 | top 25% in Alabama; top 23% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 3.18 | 3.73 | 3.50 | bottom 16% in Alabama; bottom 41% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.51 | 0.36 | 0.48 | top 18% in Alabama; top 32% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 51.9 | 46.9 | 45.8 | bottom 35% in Alabama; bottom 32% in the U.S. |
| RN turnover (%) | 54.2 | 39.5 | 42.9 | bottom 22% in Alabama; bottom 30% 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 3.24, RN 0.78, weekend 2.89. 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: 4/5 · long-stay residents: 5/5 · short-stay residents: 3/5
Who owns this facility
For profit - Limited Liability company
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fc-Gen Operations Investment LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 02/02/2015 |
| Gen Operations I LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 02/02/2015 |
| Gen Operations II LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 02/02/2015 |
| Genesis Healthcare INC | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 02/02/2015 |
| Genesis Healthcare LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 02/02/2015 |
| Genesis Holdings LLC | Organization | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | 100% | 02/02/2015 |
| Sun Healthcare Group INC | Organization | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 02/02/2015 |
| Whitman, Arnold | Individual | 5% or Greater Indirect Ownership Interest | — | 02/02/2015 |
| Berg, Michael | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 03/02/2015 |
| Berg, Michael | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 03/02/2015 |
| Bolen, Joel | Individual | Contracted Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 03/01/2024 |
| Bolen, Joel | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 12/16/2024 |
| Bridgeford, Laura | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/01/2024 |
| Huffman, Larry | Individual | W-2 Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 03/01/2024 |
| Huffman, Larry | Individual | ADP of the SNF | NOT APPLICABLE | 12/16/2024 |
| Mendelson, Avi | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 06/01/2024 |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "What were the findings behind this administration citation, and what has leadership changed since?"
- "How does your quality committee work, and can you give an example of a problem it recently identified and fixed?"
- "Tell me about this abuse or neglect citation — what happened, and what specific changes did you make afterward?"
- "What specific steps do you take to prevent abuse and neglect, and how are staff trained on them?"
- "If someone reports suspected abuse or neglect here, what happens in the first 24 hours?"
- "What did your most recent kitchen inspection find, and can I see how food is stored and prepared?"
- "Can I see where garbage is stored and how often it's removed?"
- "How do your actual daily staffing levels compare to what's reported on Medicare's Care Compare website?"
- "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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wetumpka Health and Rehabilitation, LLC | 5.9 mi | Wetumpka, AL | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Charlton Place Rehab and Healthcare Center | 6.6 mi | Deatsville, AL | ★★★★★ | 5/5 | |
| Prattville Health and Rehabilitation, LLC | 8.2 mi | Prattville, AL | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Montgomery Children's Specialty Center | 9.5 mi | Montgomery, AL | ★★★☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Crowne Health Care of Montgomery | 12.1 mi | Montgomery, AL | ★★★★☆ | 4/5 | |
| Capitol Hill Healthcare Center | 12.9 mi | Montgomery, AL | ★★★★☆ | 4/5 | |
| Hillview Terrace | 13.1 mi | Montgomery, AL | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Diversicare of Montgomery | 14.0 mi | Montgomery, AL | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Father Purcell Memorial Exceptional Children's Ctr | 14.3 mi | Montgomery, AL | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| John Knox Manor INC I I | 16.4 mi | Montgomery, AL | ★★☆☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Rivertown Health and Rehabilitation Center | 17.3 mi | Montgomery, AL | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 |
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Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 015019.