Barton Healthcare System Hospice
A hospice in South Lake Tahoe, California 96150
2092 Lake Tahoe Blvd Suite 500, South Lake Tahoe, California 96150. (530) 543-5581.
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The short answer
Record last released by CMS on Oct 23, 2026.
- 10 deficiencies cited in the last three years
- Not rated family caregiver rating
- 9of 10 CMS’s Hospice Care Index
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean3
- 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.
- Condition-level deficiency
- 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.
What did inspectors find?
10 deficiencies cited in the last three years
The middle of the 5 hospices serving ZIP code 96150 had 4.
The last inspection on record was on Dec 12, 2024: a follow-up inspection by The Joint Commission.
1 deficiency at condition level, the more serious of CMS’s two levels
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
10 deficiencies in 1 month of the last 36. Last cited Nov 2024. Most serious: Condition-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.
Nov 1, 2024: reaccreditation inspection by The Joint Commission10 deficiencies
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Governing body and administrator (42 CFR 418.100(b))
“Observed in Leadership Session. There was no evidence that the governing body and leadership had established requirements to support patient care treatment and services as evidenced by condition level finding at §418.78. volunteer services.”
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Exercise of rights/respect for proprty/person (42 CFR 418.52(b)(1)(i))
“Observed in Record Review. In 1 of 1 patient records reviewed, where the patient had a planned discharge from the hospice program, there had been no Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage documented as given to and discussed with the patient. For example, in HOSRRDC 3, the patient had a planned discharged related to no decline in 60 days; however, there had been no NOMNC signed by the patient. This was validated with the Director of Home Health and Hospice.”
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Timeframe for completion of assessment (42 CFR 418.54(b))
The inspectors’ words, 195 words
“Observed in Record Review. In 6 of 14 patient records reviewed, the Hospice Nurse Surveyor noted the Medical Social Worker (MSW) and/or Spiritual Care Provider (SC) had not completed their comprehensive assessment within 5 days of election of Hospice Benefit (EOHB). For example, In HOSRRHV 1, the MSW had completed the comprehensive assessment 9 days post EOHB, and the SC had no documented contact with the patient since EOHB 15 days ago. In HOSRRHV 2 the MSW had an initial visit documented 7 days post EOHB. In HOSRRHV 3, the MSW had not documented an initial comprehensive visit until 13 days post EOHB and there had been no communication notes to identify the reason for the delay in service. In HOSRRNHV 4, there had been no documented SC contact in the patient record. In HOSRRNHV 5, the initial MSW visit had been 11 days post EOHB and there had been no documentation to support the delay in service. In HOSRRNHV 7, the MSW and SC both documented that voice mail messages had been left for the patient to initiate contact; however, there had been no documented follow-up. This was validated with the Director of Hospice.”
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Content of comprehensive assessment (42 CFR 418.54(c)(7))
The inspectors’ words, 126 words
“Observed in Record Review. In 4 of 14 patient records reviewed, the Hospice Nurse Surveyor noted an initial bereavement risk assessment (BR) had not been documented in the patient medical record. For example, in HOSRRHV 1, the patient had been admitted to Hospice 15 days ago. No initial BR had been documented. In HOSRRHV 2, no initial BR had been documented. In HOSRRNHV 9, there had been no initial BR documented, and in HOSDC 2, there had been no documented initial BR. The patient in HOSRRNHV 6, had an initial BR documented; however, there had been no documented spiritual care provider home visit or phone call to support how the assessment had been completed. This was validated with the Director of Hospice and the Bereavement Coordinator.”
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Content of comprehensive assessment (42 CFR 418.54(c)(8))
“Observed in Record Review. In 14 of 14 patient records reviewed, the Hospice Nurse Surveyor had been unable to validate that volunteer services had been discussed and offered to the patient/care giver. for example, in HOSRRHV 1, the patient has a need for volunteer services. Discussed with the primary caregiver, and they indicated the services had never been explained, nor offered. The lack of documentation related to the need for volunteer services had not been present in all records reviewed. This was validated with the Director of Hospice.”
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Content of plan of care (42 CFR 418.56(c)(4))
The inspectors’ words, 114 words
“Observed in Record Review. In 4 of 14 patient records reviewed, the Hospice Nurse Surveyor noted not all patient identified issues had been addressed on the patient plan of care (POC). For example, in HOSRRHV 1, the patient had a high Braden score (14) on the initial evaluation visit and skin tears; however, preventative measures had not been added to the POC. In HOSRRNHV 4 the patient had pain control issues; however, pain had not been included on the plan of care. HOSRRNHV 5 had been missing Pain and Skin from the POC, and in HOSRRNHV 6, pain had not been included on the patient POC. This was validated with the Director of Hospice.”
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Recruiting and retaining (42 CFR 418.78(c))
“Observed in Tracer Activities. The Hospice Nurse Surveyor noted the HCO had not documented volunteer recruitment activities. The recruitment activities conducted had been passive on the hospital web page and had not generated any volunteer prospects. This was validated with the Director of Hospice and the Volunteer Coordinator.”
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Cost saving (42 CFR 418.78(d))
“Observed in Tracer Activities. During a review of the Volunteer Program, the Coordinator had not been able to provide documentation of volunteer hours so there had been no documentation of the cost savings received from having volunteers as this had not been available during the survey. This was validated with the Director of Hospice and the Volunteer Coordinator. 

”
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Level of activity (42 CFR 418.78(e))
“Observed in Tracer Activities. The Hospice Nurse Surveyor had not been able to validated the HCO had met the 5% standard as the documentation was not available during survey. This was validated with the Director of Hospice and the Volunteer Coordinator.”
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Use and mintenance of equipment and supplies (42 CFR 418.106(f)(2))
The inspectors’ words, 123 words
“Observed in Patient Home. In 1 of 2 home visits conducted, where the patient had home oxygen, the Hospice Nurse Surveyor noted there had been no documentation to validate patient/care giver understanding of oxygen safety education and their ability to implement it. In HOSRRHV 3, there had been smoking materials in the patient home, a gas stove, and the patient had been smoking and putting the nasal cannula (with oxygen still flowing) into her pocket while she smoked. In review of the patient record, there had been no documentation to reflect that the patient and caregiver had an understanding of the home safety education and no follow-up education had been provided to mitigate the risks. This was validated with the Director of Hospice.”
All 2 inspections in the last three years
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 12, 2024 | Follow-up inspection by The Joint Commission | No deficiencies cited |
| Nov 1, 2024 | Reaccreditation inspection by The Joint Commission | 10 deficiencies cited |
Is it certified?
- Medicare-certified hospice since Jul 11, 1997.
- Ownership: non-profit.
- Cited at 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. in the last three years: it didn’t meet a whole condition of Medicare’s rules.
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): 10.4 nurse care minutes per routine home care day, 6.3% of skilled nursing minutes at weekends and a visit near death for 74.7% of patients who died.
- Where its patients were cared for (Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024): 87% at home, 13% in a skilled nursing facility.
CMS, Hospice Provider Data. Released Aug 26, 2026. Updated quarterly.
| Measure | This provider |
|---|---|
| Nurse care minutes per routine home care day | 10.4 min |
| Skilled nursing minutes at weekends | 6.3% |
| Visits near death | 74.7% of patients who died |
Who owns it?
- 2 owners or officers are people: Clinton D Purvance (corporate officer, 100%); Clinton D Purvance (runs it (operational or managerial control)).
- 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?
- CMS gives no family caregiver survey rating: “The number of cases is too small to report Star Ratings.”
- CMS’s Hospice Care Index: 9 of 10 (Jan 1, 2023 to Dec 31, 2024).
- 85.48% of patients were assessed on all seven of CMS’s measures at the start of care (Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2025); 25.8% 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 | Not rated |
| 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 | 9 of 10 |
How does it compare nearby?
- Of the 5 hospices CMS’s data show serving patients in ZIP code 96150, where this hospice’s office is, the middle number of deficiencies cited in the last three years was 4; this one had 10.
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 |
|---|---|
| Barton Healthcare System Hospice This hospice | 10 |
| Sutter Care at Home | 2 |
| Vitas Healthcare Corporation of California | 1 |
| Suncrest Hospice Sacramento, LLC | 8 |
| Interim Healthcare Hospice - Sacramento Area | 4 |
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
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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).
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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).
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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).
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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).
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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).
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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).
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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.