Baxter Health Home Health Marion County
A home health agency in Cotter, Arkansas 72626
30 Ryan Road, Cotter, Arkansas 72626. (870) 435-7500.
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The short answer
Record last released by CMS on Oct 21, 2026.
- 3.5of 5 quality of patient care rating
- 5of 5 patient survey rating
- 1 deficiencies cited in the last three years
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean3
- Star ratings
- CMS rates some kinds of place from 1 to 5 stars, more stars meaning better on CMS’s own measures for that kind: for a nursing home, its health inspections, staffing and quality measures. A rating is CMS’s summary of those measures; it doesn’t promise good care. Source: CMS, Care Compare and the Five-Star Quality Rating System.
- Inspection (survey)
- A visit by state inspectors, often unannounced, who check a place against the rules it must meet. For nursing homes and other places Medicare pays, CMS calls these visits surveys: a standard survey of a nursing home comes at least every 15 months, and a complaint survey whenever a complaint calls for one. Source: CMS; 42 CFR 488.308.
- Deficiency, citation, violation
- What inspectors write up when a place didn’t meet a rule: the rule, what they saw, and when. CMS calls it a deficiency; states may say citation or violation. It is the inspectors’ finding, not a court’s, and the place is usually asked for a plan to correct it. Source: CMS, statement of deficiencies (Form CMS-2567); each state’s licensing agency.
What did inspectors find?
The last inspection on record was on Apr 29, 2026: a complaint inspection.
1 deficiency cited in the last three years.
CMS, QCOR home health inspection reports. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
When those deficiencies happened
1 deficiency in 1 month of the last 36. Last cited Apr 2026. Most serious: Element-level. The last 3 years, to Oct 24, 2026.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||
| 2024 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2025 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2026 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct |
Hover or focus a month to read it.
Hearth Record drew this from the dates and levels in the source’s own records.
Each deficiency, as cited
Rule titles as CMS’s inspectors cite them, set in sentence case.
CMS, QCOR home health inspection reports. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
Apr 29, 2026: complaint inspection1 deficiency
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Before Discharge For Cause Hha Must:
The inspectors’ words, 675 words
“Before discharge for cause HHA must: CFR(s): 484.50(d)(5) The HHA determines, under a policy set by the HHA for the purpose of addressing discharge for cause that meets the requirements of paragraphs (d)(5)(i) through (d)(5)(iii) of this section, that the patient’s (or other persons in the patient’s home) behavior is disruptive, abusive, or uncooperative to the extent that delivery of care to the patient or the ability of the HHA to operate effectively is seriously impaired. The HHA must do the following before it discharges a patient for cause: This Element is not met as evidenced by: Based on clinical record review, policy and procedure review, and personnel interviews, it was determined the agency failed to ensure efforts were made to resolve an issue prior to a discharge for cause for 1 of 1 (#1) clinical record reviewed. This failed practice had the potential to affect all patients in that a discharge without required procedure followed could result in a patient not receiving care leaving that patient in a potentially harmful situation. Findings follow: Review of Clinical Record #1 with a start of care date of 03/21/26 revealed a patient with a diagnosis of Acute Posthemorrhagic anemia.On 04/14/26 the agency’s Administrator documented a discharge for cause situation which involved inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature toward a female nurse. The email noted the agency Administrator called and spoke to the patient about the situation, it was not denied by the patient, and he was immediately discharged. On 04/29/26 at 10:00 a.m., a Policy and Procedure titled, “Home Health Transfer and Discharge Policy and Procedures” was reviewed. It documented, “...BHHH [Baxter Health Home Health] will do the following before a patient is discharged for cause:...Make efforts to resolve the problem(s) presented by the patient’s behavior... Document in the patient’s EMR [Electronic Medical Record] the behaviors and circumstances that warranted patient discharge for cause as well as the efforts put forth to resolve the problem(s). The clinical record should reflect a. Identification of the problems encountered. b. Assessment of the situation c. Communication among HHA [Home Health agency] management, patient caregiver, legal representative and the physician responsible for the POC [plan of care]. d. A plan to resolve the issues. e. Results of the plan implementation...” On 04/29/26 at 12:20 p.m., an interview was conducted with the named nurse from this interaction. She stated she felt “overall uncomfortable” but did not feel in danger during this interaction. She stated when she told him his non-physically aggressive behavior was inappropriate “he let her [hand] go”.On 04/29/26 at 12:45 p.m., an interview was conducted with the named patient’s primary nurse. She reported that he did not have any inappropriate interactions with her, nor the two other nurses that were on-call and completed visits at his home. She stated there are two male nurses that are assigned to two patients that have a history of sex offender status and historically two nurses were assigned to complete a skilled nurse visit for a particular patient the agency deemed to be unsafe. On 04/29/26 at 1:30 p.m., an interview was conducted with the Administrator and the Nurse Manager. The Administrator was asked what types of training has been conducted by the agency to train the staff on what to do during inappropriate sexual behavior from a patient. The Administrator stated the staff are told repeatedly that at any time, they can leave the home if they feel unsafe, but the agency does not have any documentation of in-services completed of this nor of this topic specifically. The Administrator concurred there was one last visit scheduled for this patient and was asked why the last visit was not completed with one of the male nurses or two nurses assigned as they have demonstrated they were capable of doing. She stated, “Honestly, I was just thinking about his (the named patient’s) behavior.” On 04/29/26 at 3:00 p.m., the Administrator was not able to provide any further documentation or evidence that the agency made efforts to resolve this issue prior to the discharge for cause.”
All 2 inspections in the last three years
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 29, 2026 | Complaint inspection | 1 deficiency cited |
| Feb 28, 2025 | Recertification inspection | No deficiencies cited |
Is it certified?
- Medicare-certified home health agency since Apr 25, 1992.
- Ownership: proprietary (for profit).
- No For hospices, home health agencies, hospitals and dialysis facilities, CMS writes deficiencies at two levels. Standard is the usual one; condition-level is the more serious, when a problem is serious enough that the provider doesn’t meet a whole condition of taking part in Medicare. Source: CMS, State Operations Manual. deficiency on record in the last three years.
CMS, Home Health Care Agencies. Released Oct 21, 2026. Updated quarterly.
CMS, QCOR home health inspection reports. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
Has anything been proven against it?
- CMS doesn’t publish fines or other penalties for home health agencies, so none are shown.
- 1 deficiency cited in the last three years came from an inspection that included a complaint investigation.
CMS, QCOR home health inspection reports. Released Oct 20, 2026. Updated monthly.
Who does the caring?
- Offers nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, medical social services and home health aide services.
- Doesn’t offer speech pathology.
- CMS doesn’t publish staffing levels for home health agencies.
CMS, Home Health Care Agencies. Released Oct 21, 2026. Updated quarterly.
Who owns it?
- 14 owners or officers are people: Sally Gilbert (corporate director); Melissa B Dirst-Roberts (other role (CMS gives no detail)); Rondell Peterson (managing employee (on the payroll)); Debra Henry (corporate director); Debra Henry (managing employee (on the payroll)); Jason Lindsay (other role (CMS gives no detail), 0%); Heather Knight Loftis (other role (CMS gives no detail), 0%); Lang Zimmerman (corporate director); Steve Luelf (other role (CMS gives no detail)); Paul Wade (corporate director, 0%); Lucinda Crow (managing employee (on the payroll)); Ted Sanders (other role (CMS gives no detail)); Randy Hopper (corporate director, 0%); Jerry Cunningham (corporate director).
- No private-equity firm among the owners CMS lists.
- No real-estate investment trust among the owners CMS lists.
CMS, Home Health Agency All Owners and Home Health Agency Enrollments. Released Sep 29, 2026. Updated quarterly.
How do patients fare?
- CMS rates its quality of patient care 3.5 of 5.
- Patients rate it 5 of 5 in CMS’s patient survey (81 surveys completed): 92% rated it 9 or 10 out of 10, and 97% would definitely recommend it.
- CMS compares it with the national rate: discharged to the community, better; potentially preventable hospital stays, the same; potentially preventable readmissions after discharge, the same.
CMS, Home Health Care Agencies and Home Health Patient Survey. Released Oct 21, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Measure | Rating |
|---|---|
| Quality of patient care ratingCMS star rating, 1 to 5 in half stars | 3.5 of 5 |
| Patient survey ratingCMS star rating from its survey of the agency’s patients, 1 to 5 | 5 of 5 |
| Discharged to the communityCMS’s risk-adjusted rate, compared with the national rate | 85.06% (better than the national rate) |
| Potentially preventable hospital staysCMS’s risk-adjusted rate, compared with the national rate | 13.14% (same as the national rate) |
| Potentially preventable readmissions after dischargeCMS’s risk-adjusted rate, compared with the national rate | 4.15% (same as the national rate) |
How does it compare nearby?
- Of the 5 agencies CMS’s data show serving patients in ZIP code 72626, where this agency’s office is, 4 have a quality of patient care rating; the middle one is 3.5 of 5, and this one is rated 3.5 of 5.
CMS, Home Health ZIP Codes and Home Health Care Agencies. Released Oct 21, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Place | Quality rating |
|---|---|
| Baxter Health Home Health | 3 |
| Baxter Health Home Health Marion County This home health agency | 3.5 |
| Elite Home Health | 3.5 |
| Home Bound Medical | Not given |
| Centerwell Home Health | 4 |
What the record doesn’t say
- CMS doesn’t publish fines or other penalties for home health agencies, so none are shown.
- Only complaints that led to a citation appear; complaints that didn’t aren’t published.
- QCOR says some of its home health reports are accurate or available only through May 19, 2021, because of a systems migration.
- Many home health agencies are inspected by a private accrediting organisation instead of the state, and QCOR’s home health file doesn’t appear to include those inspections: no inspection on record here doesn’t mean none took place.
Sources
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health Care Agencies (6jpm-sxkc).
Released Oct 21, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health Patient Survey (ccn4-8vby).
Released Oct 21, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, QCOR home health inspection reports (HHA_2567s_2018_to_2026YTD.xlsx).
Released Oct 20, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated monthly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health Agency All Owners (fc009b2d-7846-44b1-b4a1-692f0c143879).
Released Sep 29, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health Agency Enrollments (15f64ab4-3172-4a27-b589-ebd67a6d28aa).
Released Sep 29, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Home Health ZIP Codes (m5eg-upu5).
Released Oct 21, 2026 and checked Oct 24, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
If you believe something here is wrong, a correction starts with the agency whose record this copies: CMS. CMS’s own record is on Care Compare. If Hearth Record copied something wrongly, it will fix it and log the correction publicly, with its date: how corrections work.
This copy of the record was made on Oct 24, 2026.
From the agency
The public record above comes first. Anything the agency adds will appear here, below it, and say who wrote it.
Replies
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Paid listing
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