Vermel Hospice, Inc.
A hospice in Sunland, California 91040
8119 Foothill Blvd Suite 6, Sunland, California 91040.
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The short answer
Record last released by CMS on Oct 23, 2026. We couldn’t read Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ list since Oct 27, 2026: qcor.cms.gov now refuses our reader. This record is as of then.
- 5 deficiencies cited in the last three years
- Not rated family caregiver rating
- Not available CMS’s Hospice Care Index
Each figure’s source sits beside it, in its section below.
What these words mean2
- 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?
5 deficiencies cited in the last three years
The middle of the 159 hospices serving ZIP code 91040 had 4.
The last inspection on record was on Nov 19, 2025: a reaccreditation inspection by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care.
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
5 deficiencies in 1 month of the last 36. Last cited Nov 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.
Nov 19, 2025: reaccreditation inspection by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care5 deficiencies
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Content of plan of care (42 CFR 418.56(c))
The inspectors’ words, 136 words
“Upon patient record review, 2 of 15 (Patient #3,5) did not have evidence in the patient record that the hospice has developed an individualized written plan of care for each patient. The plan of care must reflect patient/family goals and interventions based on the problems identified in the initial, comprehensive, and updated comprehensive assessments. The plan of care must include all services necessary for the palliation and management of the terminal illness and related conditions. Patient #3 - The medication profile showed patient was taking aspirin daily as a blood thinner. The plan of care did not include problems, goals or interventions related to the bleeding risk. Patient #5 - The nursing comprehensive assessment showed the patient was assessed a 6 on the Braden scale. There was no evidence of any integumentary problems, goals, or interventions.”
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Content of plan of care (42 CFR 418.56(c)(2))
The inspectors’ words, 146 words
“Upon patient record review, 11 of 15 (Patient #1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,12) did not have evidence the plan of care must includes all services necessary for the palliation and management of the terminal illness and related conditions, including the following: • A detailed statement of the scope and frequency of services necessary to meet the specific patient and family needs • The IDG demonstrates a proactive approach in developing each patient’s plan of care by planning ahead for anticipated patient changes and needs. Decisions should reflect the patient/family preferences rather than be solely a response to a crisis. Patient #1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,12 - The medical records showed frequency orders for the social worker and the spiritual care coordinator at “1 visit every month, recertification, and prn.” A discipline’s ordered visit frequency cannot include a PRN visit frequency, without a baseline frequency to support it and must include the number of PRN.”
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Content of plan of care (42 CFR 418.56(c)(5))
“Upon patient record review, 1 of 15 (Patient #2) did not have evidence the plan of care must include all services necessary for the palliation and management of the terminal illness and related conditions, including equipment and supply needs. Patient #2 - The medication profile showed patient was utilizing Duoneb 3/0.5 mg 1 vial neubulize every four hours as needed. The plan of care did not include a neubulizer as a DME item.”
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Counseling services (42 CFR 418.64(d)(1))
The inspectors’ words, 131 words
“Upon patient record review, 1 of 15 (Patient #9) did not have evidence the hospice offers bereavement counseling that includes: • Making bereavement services available to the family and other individuals in the bereavement plan of care up to 1 year following the death of the patient. Bereavement counseling also extends to residents of a SNF/NF or ICF/IID when appropriate and identified in the bereavement plan of care • Ensuring that bereavement services reflect the needs of the bereaved • Development of a bereavement plan of care that notes the kind of bereavement services to be offered and the frequency of service delivery Patient #9 - Patient expired on 08/08/25. There was no evidence of any bereavement follow up post date of death. There is no bereavement plan of care present.”
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Hospice aide assignments and duties (42 CFR 418.76(g)(2))
The inspectors’ words, 163 words
“Upon patient record review 2 of 15 (Patient #1,11) did not have evidence documentation in the patient record that a hospice aide provides services that are: • Ordered by the interdisciplinary group • Included in the plan of care • Permitted to be performed under state law by such hospice aide • Consistent with the hospice aide training Patient #1 - The initial plan of care and the aide care plan of care dated 10/02/25, showed a frequency order for two times per week. For the weeks of 10/13/25, 10/20/25,10/27/25 and 11/3/25, the medical record showed only one visit each week. There was no evidence of an order to change frequency of those visit or no documented missed visits. Patient #11 - The initial plan of care as well as the aide plan of care dated 12/07/24, showed a frequency order for aide visits to occur three times per week. There was no evidence of any aide visits or change in frequency order.”
The one inspection in the last three years
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 19, 2025 | Reaccreditation inspection by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care | 5 deficiencies cited |
Is it certified?
- Medicare-certified hospice since Nov 18, 2022.
- CMS doesn’t list its type of ownership.
- 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?
- CMS hasn’t published nursing time from Medicare claims for this hospice.
- Where its patients were cared for (Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024): 73% at home, 27% in assisted living.
CMS, Hospice Provider Data. Released Aug 26, 2026. Updated quarterly.
Who owns it?
- 8 owners or officers are people: Mihret Gelaw (owns 5% or more directly, 95%); Mihret Gelaw (corporate officer, 95%); Mihret Gelaw (managing employee (on the payroll), 95%); Mihret Gelaw (runs it (operational or managerial control), 95%); Viktoriya Klyuchkovska (corporate director, 50%); Viktoriya Klyuchkovska (runs it (operational or managerial control), 50%); Michael Sheinin (corporate director, 50%); Verzhine Fodolyan (owns 5% or more directly, 5%).
- 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 gives no Hospice Care Index for this hospice.
- 86.84% of patients were assessed on all seven of CMS’s measures at the start of care (Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2025).
CMS, CAHPS Hospice Survey and Hospice Provider Data. Released Aug 26, 2026. Updated quarterly.
How does it compare nearby?
- Of the 159 hospices CMS’s data show serving patients in ZIP code 91040, where this hospice’s office is, the middle number of deficiencies cited in the last three years was 4; this one had 5.
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 |
|---|---|
| Acute Hospice Care, Inc. | 23 |
| Integral Hospice, Inc. | 5 |
| Alleviate Hospice, Inc. | 18 |
| Gao Hospice Care, Inc. | 0 |
| California Hospice Care Center | 3 |
| Alesya Hospice, Inc. | Not given |
| Flintridge Hospice Care, Inc. | Not given |
| My Comfort Care Hospice, Inc. | 2 |
| Grace Palliative & Hospice Care | 31 |
| Vermel Hospice, Inc. This hospice | 5 |
| Providence at Home With Compassus Hospice Care La County | 5 |
| Kaiser Foundation Hospital Valley Continuing Care | 10 |
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.