Ohio Eastern Star HLTH Care Ctr the
1451 Gambier Road, Mount Vernon, OH 43050 · Knox County · 86 certified beds · avg 70 residents/day · certified since Jul 25, 1996
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★★★☆☆3/5 · CMS overall rating: 2/5
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 27, 2025 · F-0760 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not keep residents free from significant medication errors — such as giving the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or missing a critical medication.
Why it matters: A serious medication error can cause real harm, hospitalization, or worse.
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 21, 2025 (Deficient, Provider has date 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 12, 2026 | 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. |
| Feb 12, 2026 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility's menus did not meet residents' nutritional needs, or were not prepared in advance, followed as written, kept up to date, or reviewed by a dietician. |
| Feb 12, 2026 | 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. |
| Feb 12, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep residents' personal and medical information private and confidential. |
| Feb 12, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. |
| Feb 12, 2026 | 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. |
| Feb 12, 2026 | 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 12, 2026 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have a working program to monitor how antibiotics are used. Tracking antibiotic use helps make sure these drugs are given only when needed and remain effective. |
| Feb 27, 2025 | ▲ G · Actual harm, one-off | The facility did not keep residents free from significant medication errors — such as giving the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or missing a critical medication. · from a complaint |
| Jan 3, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide the right treatment and services for residents with dementia or signs of dementia. Dementia care requires specific approaches, training, and patience. · from a complaint |
| Sep 4, 2024 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| May 2, 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. |
| May 2, 2024 | 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 7, 2023 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | 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. |
| Mar 7, 2023 | 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 7, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide proper care for pressure ulcers (bedsores) or did not do enough to prevent new ones from forming. Bedsores develop when residents stay in one position too long without help moving. |
| Mar 7, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not prepare and serve food in a form that meets each resident's individual needs — for example, chopped, pureed, or softened food for residents with chewing or swallowing problems. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections increased between the last two inspection cycles (2 → 8).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | F |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | F |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | G ▲ |
| 2026 | 8 | 0 | F |
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 | Ohio avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 0.00 | 3.45 | 3.95 | — |
| Registered Nurse hours | 0.00 | 0.60 | 0.69 | — |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 0.00 | 3.07 | 3.50 | — |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.00 | 0.42 | 0.48 | — |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 0.0 | 48.7 | 45.8 | — |
| RN turnover (%) | 0.0 | 43.9 | 42.9 | — |
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 0.00, RN 0.00, weekend 0.00. Staffing rating: 1/5.
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: 3/5
Who owns this facility
Non profit - Corporation
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engelbach, Michele | Individual | W-2 Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/09/2012 |
| Engelbach, Michele | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/09/2012 |
| Hardesty, Ronald | Individual | Corporate Director | NOT APPLICABLE | 01/01/2022 |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "What systems do you use to prevent medication errors, and what happens when one occurs?"
- "What did your most recent kitchen inspection find, and can I see how food is stored and prepared?"
- "Who reviews your menus, and can I see this week's menu and join my family member for a meal?"
- "If my family member falls or their condition changes, exactly when and how will I be notified?"
- "How do you protect residents' privacy, both in their medical records and in day-to-day care?"
- "What is your falls rate, and what specific steps do you take to prevent falls and supervise residents at risk?"
- "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?"
- "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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country Club Retirement Center | 0.7 mi | Mount Vernon, OH | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | abuse |
| Als Mount Vernon INC | 0.9 mi | Mount Vernon, OH | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Country Court | 1.0 mi | Mount Vernon, OH | ★★☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Whispering Hills Rehabilitation and Nursing Center | 2.0 mi | Mount Vernon, OH | ★★★★☆ | 3/5 | |
| Laurels of Mt Vernon the | 2.1 mi | Mount Vernon, OH | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Centerburg Pointe | 13.7 mi | Centerburg, OH | ★★★☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Morrow Manor Nursing Center | 14.0 mi | Chesterville, OH | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Country Meadow Rehabilitation and Nursing Center | 18.4 mi | Bellville, OH | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Altercare Newark North INC. | 19.9 mi | Newark, OH | ★★★☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Bennington Glen Nursing & Rehabilitation Center | 19.9 mi | Marengo, OH | ★★★☆☆ | 4/5 |
Compare this facility with the 3 closest →
All facilities in Mount Vernon →
Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 366076.