Hospice of Limestone County
A hospice in Athens, Alabama 35611
405 South Marion Street, Athens, Alabama 35611. (256) 232-5017.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CMS’s own record is on Care Compare.
The short answer
Record last released by CMS on Oct 23, 2026.
- 1 deficiency cited in the last three years
- 5of 5 family caregiver rating
- 10of 10 CMS’s Hospice Care Index
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?
1 deficiency cited in the last three years
The middle of the 14 hospices serving ZIP code 35611 had 2.5.
The last inspection on record was on Apr 30, 2025: a recertification inspection by the state.
CMS, QCOR hospice inspection reports. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated quarterly.
CMS, Hospice ZIP Data. Released Aug 26, 2026. Updated quarterly.
When those deficiencies happened
1 deficiency in 1 month of the last 36. Last cited Apr 2025. Most serious: Standard-level. The last 3 years, to Oct 27, 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 hospice inspection reports. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated quarterly.
Apr 4, 2025: recertification inspection by the state1 deficiency
-
Nursing services (42 CFR 418.64(b)(1))
The inspectors’ words, 278 words
“Based on medical record (MR) review, Alabama Board of Nursing Administrative Code, agency policy and procedure, and interview, it was determined the agency failed to ensure the nursing staff received the pronouncement of death via telecommunication with the physician as required by the Alabama Board of Nursing.This deficiency affected one of three Bereavement MRs reviewed and had the potential to negatively affect all patients admitted to the hospice.Findings include:Policy Number: 4-069.1Title: Provision of Care and Record ManagementRevision Date: NonePurpose: To establish the process to follow when a patient dies.Policy: …Individual state and community regulations and practices will be followed.Procedure:...5. The nurse will notify the Hospice Medical Director (MD) of the patient’s death as evidenced by reporting absence of vital signs and other signs of life. It will be the Hospice MD’s responsibility to pronounce death upon this notification. Alabama Board of Nursing Administrative CodeChapter 610-X-6Standards of Nursing PracticeRevised: September 8, 2016610-X-6-.15 Telecommunication for Pronouncement of Patient DeathThe licensed nurse may receive pronouncement of a patient’s death from a physician via telecommunication. MR # 13 was admitted to the hospice agency on 6/24/24 with diagnoses including malignant neoplasm of unspecified part of left bronchus or lung, and essential hypertension. Review of the MR revealed a Skilled Nurse (SN) visit note dated 7/4/24. The SN documented the following in the Narrative Note, “...Son and daughter in law notified of patient passing. TOD (Time of Death) 1:50 PM. MD made aware.”There was no documentation the SN received the pronouncement of death from the physician.An interview was conducted on 4/4/24 at 12:51 PM with Employee Identifier # 1, Assistant Director, who confirmed there was no documentation the physician made the death pronouncement.”
All 2 inspections in the last three years
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 2025 | Recertification inspection by the state | No deficiencies cited |
| Apr 4, 2025 | Recertification inspection by the state | 1 deficiency cited |
Is it certified?
- Medicare-certified hospice since Feb 9, 1989.
- Ownership: other.
- 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 or CMS’s most serious finding: the place’s failure to meet a rule caused, or was likely to cause, serious injury, harm, impairment or death to someone in its care. Source: CMS; 42 CFR 489.3. on record in the last three years.
CMS, Hospice General Information. Released Aug 26, 2026. Updated quarterly.
CMS, QCOR hospice inspection reports. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated quarterly.
Has anything been proven against it?
- CMS doesn’t publish fines or other penalties for hospices, so none are shown.
- 0 deficiencies cited in the last three years came from inspections that included a complaint investigation.
CMS, QCOR hospice inspection reports. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated quarterly.
Who does the caring?
- From Medicare claims (Jan 1, 2023 to Dec 31, 2024): 14 nurse care minutes per routine home care day, 7.5% of skilled nursing minutes at weekends and a visit near death for 98.2% of patients who died.
- Where its patients were cared for (Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024): 82% at home, 3% in assisted living, 15% in a nursing facility.
CMS, Hospice Provider Data. Released Aug 26, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Measure | This provider |
|---|---|
| Nurse care minutes per routine home care day | 14.0 min |
| Skilled nursing minutes at weekends | 7.5% |
| Visits near death | 98.2% of patients who died |
Who owns it?
- 14 owners or officers are people: Sanders Woodroof (corporate director); Jerry Evans (corporate director); Kristi Valls (corporate director); Kenny Brinkley (corporate director); Jane Lusk (corporate director); Martha Camp (corporate director); William Woodall (managing employee (on the payroll)); Vicki Stevenson (corporate director); Tom Mccrary (corporate director); Tommy Maples (corporate director); Dorothy Shoulders (corporate director); Brian Patterson (corporate director); Suzanne Paysinger (corporate director); Carolin Page (corporate director).
- No private-equity firm among the owners CMS lists.
- No real-estate investment trust among the owners CMS lists.
CMS, Hospice All Owners and Hospice Enrollments. Released Sep 29, 2026. Updated quarterly.
What do families say?
- Family caregivers rate it 5 of 5 in CMS’s survey (Oct 1, 2023 to Sep 30, 2025): 92% rated it 9 or 10 out of 10, and 92% would definitely recommend it.
- CMS’s Hospice Care Index: 10 of 10 (Jan 1, 2023 to Dec 31, 2024).
- 98.36% of patients were assessed on all seven of CMS’s measures at the start of care (Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2025); 89.8% had visits from a nurse or social worker on at least 2 of their last 3 days (Jan 1, 2023 to Dec 31, 2024).
CMS, CAHPS Hospice Survey and Hospice Provider Data. Released Aug 26, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Measure | Rating |
|---|---|
| Family caregiver survey ratingCMS star rating from its survey of patients’ family caregivers, 1 to 5 | 5 of 5 |
| Hospice Care IndexCMS’s Hospice Care Index, 0 to 10 (higher is better): a point for each of ten measures from Medicare claims on which the hospice meets CMS’s threshold | 10 of 10 |
How does it compare nearby?
- Of the 14 hospices CMS’s data show serving patients in ZIP code 35611, where this hospice’s office is, the middle number of deficiencies cited in the last three years was 2.5; this one had 1.
CMS, Hospice ZIP Data. Released Aug 26, 2026. Updated quarterly.
CMS, QCOR hospice inspection reports. Released Oct 23, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Place | Deficiencies, 3 years |
|---|---|
| Hospice of Limestone County This hospice | 1 |
| Hospice Family Care | 5 |
| Hospice of the Valley, Inc. | 16 |
| Southerncare New Beacon Scottsboro | 13 |
| Amedisys Hospice of Birmingham | 3 |
| Preferred Hospice | 2 |
| Hospice of North Alabama, LLC | 2 |
| Heartlite Hospice | 2 |
| Aveanna Hospice of Decatur | 0 |
| Amedisys Hospice of Florence | 1 |
| Gentiva Huntsville | 21 |
| Affinity Hospice Madison | 7 |
What the record doesn’t say
- CMS doesn’t publish fines or other penalties for hospices, so none are shown.
- Only complaints that led to a citation appear; complaints that didn’t aren’t published.
- CMS ended its Special Focus Program for hospices with serious problems on Feb 14, 2025, so no hospice is marked as one.
- Hospice quality measures have a gap from October 2025: CMS replaced its patient assessment then, and public results from the new one (HOPE) are expected around November 2027.
Sources
-
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospice General Information (yc9t-dgbk).
Released Aug 26, 2026 and checked Oct 27, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
-
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospice Provider Data (252m-zfp9).
Released Aug 26, 2026 and checked Oct 27, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
-
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CAHPS Hospice Survey (gxki-hrr8).
Released Aug 26, 2026 and checked Oct 27, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
-
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, QCOR hospice inspection reports (Hospice Survey Reports - Oct 2021 through Sep 2026.xlsx).
Released Oct 23, 2026 and checked Oct 27, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
-
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospice All Owners (e983965e-1603-4cb8-82b5-c40090e380d1).
Released Sep 29, 2026 and checked Oct 27, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
-
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospice Enrollments (25704213-e833-4b8b-9dbc-58dd17149209).
Released Sep 29, 2026 and checked Oct 27, 2026. Updated quarterly. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
-
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospice ZIP Data (95rg-2usp).
Released Aug 26, 2026 and checked Oct 27, 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 27, 2026.
From the hospice
The public record above comes first. Anything the hospice adds will appear here, below it, and say who wrote it.
Replies
None. Replies aren’t open yet. When they open, the hospice will be able to answer any finding for free, and the reply will show beside that finding, unedited and dated.
Paid listing
None. Paid listings aren’t open yet. When they open, anything paid for will say “Paid by the hospice”, and paying will never change a finding, a rating or the order of results.