Life Care Center of Elizabethton sits in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and provides skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care, respite care, and hospice services all under one roof. The facility has offered help for many types of needs, from short-term rehabilitation after hospital stays to long-term care and daily living assistance. Many residents rely on help for things like moving, toileting, and managing incontinence, and over half have dementia, with a focus on memory care to help with cognitive issues. Care includes 24-hour supervision, medical oversight, detailed care plans made by in-house therapists and nurses, physical and occupational therapies, speech-language pathology, wound management, suction and oxygen therapy, and a state-of-the-art rehabilitation gym. Some people come for short stays, needing recovery after surgery or illness, while others seek permanent housing with ongoing needs.
The building is large and aims for a homelike feeling, with gardens, recreation rooms, community evening events, and a wide set of comforts such as a spa area, a barber or parlor, a book room, creative activities, scheduled workout plans, music sessions, movies, and daily programs. Residents have transportation coordination and access to a social care platform for arranging more services. Amenities support both activity and relaxation, so people can join in group programs or enjoy quiet time. The facility maintains a Facebook page with updates about daily life and makes an online form available for feedback and questions.
However, the care quality has faced serious concerns. Life Care Center of Elizabethton has been placed on the NHAA Watchlist for causing Immediate Jeopardy and Actual Harm to residents. Between August 2021 and February 2024, the facility received multiple deficiencies. Rated with the lowest possible marks for overall care, staffing, and quality measures at times from 2017 to 2024, it also showed unsafe staffing levels, especially from 2023 into 2024. On many days, certified nursing assistant (CNA) care fell below 2.0 hours per resident, with 81.3% of days in 2024 under this mark. Over several years, average CNA care ranged from only 1.54 to 1.79 hours per resident per day, and overall resident care ranged only from 3.05 to 3.18 hours per day.
In this facility, almost all residents need assistance with basic tasks-93.4% need help transferring, 92.3% need help with toileting, and 81.3% need help with incontinence. The high percentage of residents with dementia means there's a focus on memory care. The facility does offer skilled nursing and inpatient rehabilitation plus some resort-like amenities, but the record of care and safety issues are important to consider. The facility is part of a service platform called findhelp and provides a mix of healthcare and social support, but careful review of its history may be helpful before making any decisions.
