Lakewood Health System Hospice
A hospice in Staples, Minnesota 56479
401 East Prairie Avenue, Staples, Minnesota 56479. (218) 894-8080.
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The short answer
Record last released by CMS on Oct 23, 2026.
- 0 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 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?
0 deficiencies cited in the last three years
The middle of the 5 hospices serving ZIP code 56479 had 1.
The last inspection on record was on Nov 27, 2024: 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 visit on record, nothing cited. 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.
The one inspection in the last three years
| Date | Visit | What the record says |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 27, 2024 | Recertification inspection by the state | No deficiencies cited |
Is it certified?
- Medicare-certified hospice since Aug 6, 1996.
- Ownership: non-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 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): 10 nurse care minutes per routine home care day, 6.1% of skilled nursing minutes at weekends and a visit near death for 79.1% of patients who died.
- Where its patients were cared for (Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024): 62% at home, 11% in assisted living, 26% 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 | 10.0 min |
| Skilled nursing minutes at weekends | 6.1% |
| Visits near death | 79.1% of patients who died |
Who owns it?
- 39 owners or officers are people: Melissa Beth Lindow (runs it (operational or managerial control)); Billy Joe Haehnel (corporate director); Joseph Thomas Reycraft (corporate officer); Joseph Thomas Reycraft (runs it (operational or managerial control)); Curtis Eugene Mcilravy (corporate officer); Curtis Eugene Mcilravy (corporate director); Ryan David Kray (corporate director); Robert Michael Mueller (corporate officer); Robert Michael Mueller (corporate director); Sara Jane Grove (corporate director); Craig Thomas Wolhowe (corporate officer); Craig Thomas Wolhowe (runs it (operational or managerial control)); Alicia Kay Bauman (runs it (operational or managerial control)); Mary Martha Theurer (corporate director); Elizabeth Ann Pottratz (corporate director); Lisa Marie Bjerga (corporate officer); Lisa Marie Bjerga (runs it (operational or managerial control)); Kaitlyn Rose Schoeck (corporate director); Lana Ellen Hansen (corporate director); Ronald Alvin Storbakken (corporate director); Franz Harry Achermann (corporate director); Kathleen Marie Dobson (runs it (operational or managerial control)); James Alan Roeder (runs it (operational or managerial control)); Mary Ann Fitcher (corporate director); Brad Richard Anderson (runs it (operational or managerial control)); Amy Jo Brichacek (corporate director); Emil Paul Wicht (corporate director); Melissa Sue Daniels (managing employee (on the payroll)); Michael Lee Austin (runs it (operational or managerial control)); Norman Harold Krause (corporate director); Daniel John Douts (corporate director); Susan Kay Peet (corporate director); Wade Thomas Swenson (corporate director); Lindsay Rae Leveille (corporate director); Christine Sara Albrecht (corporate director); Sarah Ann Jennissen (corporate director); Beverly Jean Hoemberg (corporate director); Jef Richard Cichos (corporate director); Sarah Jane Baumgartner (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.”
- In CMS’s survey of family caregivers (Oct 1, 2023 to Sep 30, 2025): 87% rated it 9 or 10 out of 10, and 93% would definitely recommend it.
- CMS’s Hospice Care Index: 9 of 10 (Jan 1, 2023 to Dec 31, 2024).
- 86.75% of patients were assessed on all seven of CMS’s measures at the start of care (Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2025); 37.4% 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 56479, where this hospice’s office is, the middle number of deficiencies cited in the last three years was 1; this one had 0.
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 |
|---|---|
| Lakewood Health System Hospice This hospice | 0 |
| Vivie Hospice | 1 |
| St Croix Hospice | 3 |
| Moments Hospice | 8 |
| St Croix Hospice | 0 |
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.