Compiled from official CMS federal data
Avalon Healthcare Bellingham, BELLINGHAM, WA — Violations & Inspection Reports
Does Avalon Healthcare Bellingham have a federal violation or abuse history?
According to the public federal record on file with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Avalon Healthcare Bellingham (CCN 505296), in BELLINGHAM, WA, has federal inspection findings.
In its current inspection cycle, CMS cited the facility for 10 deficiencies; the most severe is rated E — which CMS classifies as "potential for harm," a level below actual harm (risk, but no harm confirmed). The latest standard health inspection on file is dated 2025-12-05. Earlier-cycle citations appear in the dated timeline below as historical, not current. CMS has $32,298 in civil money penalties on file against the facility. The record also includes 3 abuse- or neglect-related citations in CMS's "Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation" family (F600-series; most recent Dec 2025). This page restates the federal record and draws no conclusion of its own.
Abuse-, fall-, and care-related findings on the federal record
- 3 citations in CMS's "Freedom from Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation" family (F600-series) — most recent Dec 2025.
- 2 citations for accident hazards or inadequate supervision (F689) — the deficiency family behind fall-related findings; most recent Dec 2025.
- 2 pressure-ulcer care citations (F686) — the consumer term is "bedsores"; most recent Dec 2025.
- 9 findings on file from complaint-triggered inspections.
Every figure above restates CMS’s own dated record; this page draws no conclusion of its own. Strict state filing deadlines can apply to nursing-home injury claims — a licensed attorney in your state can review this record.
FOR FAMILIES
What brings you to this record?
The Federal Record
CMS has $32,298 in civil money penalties on file against this facility.
Below is this facility's federal inspection record as on file with CMS.
Scope & Severity — current cycle
CMS's own A–L scope/severity grid. Plotted cells mark this facility's most recent (current-cycle) citations.
Civil money penalties on file
$32,298
Have a lawyer review this record →
About this record: Federal nursing-home surveys are conducted on a recurring cycle by state survey agencies acting on CMS's behalf, and the figures on this page are compiled from CMS's published provider data, as on file with CMS; the federal record may understate what actually occurred, and inspection findings are point-in-time survey results, not a determination that any specific resident was harmed.
Deficiency timeline
Citations are listed by scope/severity (most severe first), not chronologically; each entry is labeled current-cycle or historical.
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Provide appropriate pressure ulcer care and prevent new ulcers from developing.
Provide appropriate care for a resident to maintain and/or improve range of motion (ROM), limited ROM and/or mobility, unless a decline is for a medical reason.
28 more citations on file — Abuse & neglect 3 · Accidents & supervision 1 · Pressure ulcers 1 · Medication & pharmacy 2 · Resident rights 5 · Other citations 14 (expand)
Educate residents and staff on COVID-19 vaccination, offer the COVID-19 vaccine to eligible residents and staff after education, and properly document each resident and staff member's vaccination status.
Develop and implement policies and procedures for flu and pneumonia vaccinations.
Ensure drugs and biologicals used in the facility are labeled in accordance with currently accepted professional principles; and all drugs and biologicals must be stored in locked compartments, separately locked, compartments for controlled drugs.
Prevent the use of unnecessary psychotropic medications or use medications that may restrain a resident's ability to function.
Provide safe and appropriate respiratory care for a resident when needed.
Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents.
Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals.
Create and put into place a plan for meeting the resident's most immediate needs within 48 hours of being admitted
Provide appropriate pressure ulcer care and prevent new ulcers from developing.
Immediately tell the resident, the resident's doctor, and a family member of situations (injury/decline/room, etc.) that affect the resident.
Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals.
Ensure the activities program is directed by a qualified professional.
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Give the resident's representative the ability to exercise the resident's rights.
Provide appropriate care for residents who are continent or incontinent of bowel/bladder, appropriate catheter care, and appropriate care to prevent urinary tract infections.
Provide care and assistance to perform activities of daily living for any resident who is unable.
Keep residents' personal and medical records private and confidential.
Respond appropriately to all alleged violations.
Honor the resident's right to a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment, including but not limited to receiving treatment and supports for daily living safely.
Designate a qualified infection preventionist to be responsible for the infection prevent and control program in the nursing home.
Let each resident or the resident's legal representative access or purchase copies of all the resident's records.
Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality.
Assess the resident completely in a timely manner when first admitted, and then periodically, at least every 12 months.
Provide safe, appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services.
Ensure each resident’s drug regimen must be free from unnecessary drugs.
Provide or get specialized rehabilitative services as required for a resident.
Ensure that nurses and nurse aides have the appropriate competencies to care for every resident in a way that maximizes each resident's well being.
Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Overall CMS star rating
This facility: 5 · CMS state average: 3.3
Both figures as published by CMS.
You may be reading this record for the first time.
If something happened to someone you love at this facility, this federal record may be new to you today. The company that operates a nursing home, by contrast, is rarely seeing records like this for the first time — operators like these typically retain standing legal, risk, and insurance teams whose routine work includes records exactly like the one on this page. That is not a judgment of this facility; it is how the business is structured. Because strict time limits can apply, families often find it helps to have a qualified person review the record with them sooner rather than later.
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Federal record
Avalon Healthcare Bellingham — Federal Record
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SECTION 7 — CASE CONTEXT
Add what you saw at Avalon Healthcare Bellingham to this record
No call centers, no auctions. CareSentinel is an independent service that compiles the public CMS record and does not provide legal advice. The federal record is a point-in-time inspection record and may understate what actually occurred. CareSentinel is operated by Nodal Logics LLC.
Strict time limits can apply to taking legal action — consider consulting a qualified attorney promptly.
If you believe a resident is in immediate danger, call 911. Care concerns can also be reported at no cost to your state survey agency or the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program (ltcombudsman.org) — independent of any legal inquiry.
How to read this record
Making sense of a CMS inspection record
CMS scores every citation on a grid from A to L, combining how widespread a finding was with how serious it was. A–C is a deficiency CMS classifies as no harm; D–F as the potential for harm; G–I as actual harm that reached a resident; and J–L as immediate jeopardy, CMS’s most serious level. Later letters mark more serious findings.
Three questions to ask on a tour
- How is the home staffed on nights, weekends, and holidays?
- What happens when a resident’s condition changes suddenly?
- How, and how quickly, are families told about an incident?