Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center Ratings and Violations

Nursing homes in the United States provide critical services, especially for aging adults and those recovering from certain health conditions. However, these assisted living facilities often fail to meet professional standards of care, opening the door for nursing home abuse and neglect to harm residents. Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center in Fort Smith, AR, has a troubled history of violations that reflects this concerning trend among nursing homes.

If you or a loved one has suffered at a nursing home like Legacy Health, the Nursing Home Law Center can help you pursue justice with a civil lawsuit. Our trusted nursing home abuse law firm will stand by your side and guide you through the claims process, giving you a better chance of recovering compensation for your legal damages and holding the at-fault parties accountable.

In this guide, we will assess the recent past of this Fort Smith, AR, nursing home to understand its ability to meet the needs of its residents. Then we will look at legal options for victims of abuse or neglect at a nursing or rehabilitation center.

Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center: Facility Profile

Nursing homes in the United States are regulated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This federal agency publishes information on qualified nursing homes to help the public make informed decisions regarding their care. Some of the data on the CMS website includes location information, past inspection reports, quality ratings, and recent violations.

Here is the latest available data on Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center:

Facility Name: Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center (Northport Health Services of Arkansas LLC)

Address: 3310 North 50th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72904

CMS Overall Rating: 1 star (much below average)

CMS Health Inspection Rating: 1 star (much below average)

CMS Staffing Rating: 2 stars (below average)

CMS Quality Measures Rating: 1 star (much below average)

Federal Fines in the Last 3 Years: 2 fines totaling $44,668

Denied Payments by Medicare in the Last 3 Years: 0 payment denials

Cited for Abuse: No

SFF: No

About Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center in Fort Smith, AR

Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center is a skilled nursing facility located in Fort Smith, AR. It primarily focuses on short-term rehabilitation, long-term care, and post-acute services. This nursing home is not part of a continuing care retirement community or hospital. The center is owned by a nursing home corporate group called NHS Management, which is a for-profit limited liability company.

Legacy Health has 115 certified beds and provides the following services and amenities for residents:

• Certified nurse’s aides
• 24/7 skilled nursing support
• Post-hospitalization care
• Pain management
• Mobility support
• Daily activities assistance (eating, dressing, bathing, etc.)
• Range-of-motion care
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Orthopedic injury rehab
• Palliative care
• Cognitive therapy
• Nutrition and meal support
• Participates in Medicare and Medicaid
• Restaurant-style dining area
• Beautician services
• Complimentary wi-fi and cable television
• Outdoor courtyards

Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center CMS Overall Ratings, Violations, and Safety Inspections

One of the most helpful features on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website is the five-star rating system. Every qualified nursing home in the country receives four separate scores on a five-star scale in these categories: overall, health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. For reference, here is the scale for each score:

• One star – Much below average
• Two stars – Below average
• Three stars – Average
• Four stars – Above average
• Five stars – Much above average

Based on the scale, this Fort Smith, AR, nursing home has terrible CMS ratings, making it one of many Arkansas nursing homes with serious deficiencies. It has one star in all but one category (staffing has two stars), indicating it is well below average in these areas. In the sections below, we will examine the ratings to determine the reasoning behind these low scores at Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Health Inspections

Health inspections are part of the regular rhythm of a nursing home in Arkansas. Inspections are typically conducted annually or semi-annually, but they can also be initiated in response to complaints about the nursing home. The most recent inspection at this nursing home was conducted in January 2025, and this report listed five health citations.

Since September 2024, no inspections have been conducted due to complaints about the nursing home. However, eight complaints have resulted in health citations in the last three years. During that same period, no citations were issued for self-reported issues at the facility.

Let’s look at some of the violations mentioned in these recent inspection reports for Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center:

• A failure to provide and implement an infection prevention and control program
• A failure to procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute, and serve food in accordance with professional standards
• A failure to provide pharmaceutical services to meet the needs of each resident
• A failure to provide care and assistance to perform activities of daily living for any resident who is unable
• A failure to ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards and provides adequate supervision to prevent accidents
• A failure to provide care for residents who are continent or incontinent in their bowels or bladders
• A failure to create the complete care plan within seven days of the comprehensive assessment
• A failure to ensure that nurses and nurse aides have the appropriate competencies to care for every resident in a way that maximizes each resident’s well-being
• A failure to provide safe and appropriate respiratory care for a resident when needed
• A failure to provide appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services
• A failure to honor the resident’s right to a safe, clean, comfortable, and supportive environment
• A failure to ensure that food and drink are palatable, attractive, and at a safe and appetizing temperature

Staffing

When a nursing home lacks sufficient staffing, residents are in danger of facing abuse or neglect. Although Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center performed slightly better in this category (two stars), it is still considered below average. Therefore, it can be considered one of the lowest-performing nursing homes in Arkansas.

Here are a few of the primary staffing concerns at this Fort Smith, AR, facility:

• 108.1 average residents per day, compared to 76.1 in Arkansas and 84.6 nationwide, indicating a need for a larger staff
• 3 hours and 45 minutes of nurse staff hours per resident per day, compared to the state average of 4 hours and the national average of 3 hours and 51 minutes
• 16 minutes of registered nurse (RN) hours per resident per day, compared to 25 minutes in Arkansas and 41 minutes nationally
• 45 minutes of LPN/LVN hours per resident per day, compared to the state average of 57 minutes and the national average of 52 minutes
• 0 minutes of physical therapist staff hours per resident per day, compared to the Arkansas average of 2 minutes and the national average of 4 minutes
• 7 minutes of RN hours per resident per day on the weekend, compared to 17 minutes statewide and 28 minutes nationally
• A nursing staff turnover rate of 61.5%, compared to 49.5% in Arkansas and 46.9% nationwide
• A registered nurse turnover rate of 58.3%, compared to the state average of 45.1% and the national average of 43.8%
• 2 administrators have left in a given year, compared to the state average of .3 and the national average of .5

Continuing Care Retirement Community Quality Measures

Another category that performed very poorly for the Fort Smith nursing home’s CMS rating is quality measures. Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center has been assessed based on its short-term and long-term services. First, let’s look at the deficiencies faced by short-stay residents:

• 41.2% of short-stay residents were re-hospitalized after a nursing home admission, compared to 24.7% in Arkansas and 23.4% nationally
• 19.2% of short-stay residents had an outpatient emergency department visit, compared to the state average of 14% and the national average of 12%, indicating a pattern of nursing home fracture injuries
• 1.8% of short-stay residents experienced one or more falls with a major injury, compared to the national average of .8%, which illustrates the challenges of preventing nursing home patient falls
• 6.1% of short-stay residents received antipsychotic medication for the first time, compared to the state and national average of 1.6%, indicating nursing home overmedication issues
• 50% of short-stay residents were at or above an expected ability to care for themselves and move around at discharge, compared to the national average of 54.9%

The long-stay programs had just as many issues as the short-stay services at this Fort Smith, AR, nursing home:

• 2.64 hospitalizations per 1,000 long-stay resident days, compared to the state average of 2.01 and the national average of 1.83
• 3.86 outpatient emergency department visits per 1,000 long-stay resident days, compared to 2.21 in Arkansas and 1.78 in the country
• 27.5% of long-stay residents received antipsychotic medication, compared to the Arkansas rate of 10.9% and the national rate of 14.5%
• 7.6% of long-stay residents developed pressure ulcers, compared to the state average of 5.1% and the national average of 5.4%, demonstrating concerns about nursing home skin breakdown
• 2,2% of long-stay residents have had a catheter inserted and left in their bladder, compared to 1% statewide and 1.2% nationally, which could have caused nursing home catheter infections
• 8.6% of long-stay residents lost too much weight, compared to the Arkansas average of 5.2% and the national average of 5.5%, which may prove that nursing home nutrition deficiencies are a consistent challenge
• 5% of long-stay residents had symptoms of depression, compared to the state average of 1.5%, raising concerns about potential nursing home verbal mistreatment
• 30% of long-stay residents got an antianxiety or hypnotic medication, compared to the Arkansas average of 22.2% and the national average of 19.9%

Residents’ Legal Rights Following Abuse or Neglect at Rehabilitation Center Legacy Health

When you stay in a nursing home community, you have the same rights granted to all assisted living residents in Arkansas and the United States. First, you have the right to receive high-quality medical services and exceptional care from the facility’s staff. Second, you have the right to maintain a dignified existence and be treated with respect. Lastly, you can file administrative complaints against the nursing home for misconduct, abuse, or neglect.

A violation of any of these rights, or others, could mean you are eligible for a lawsuit against individual nurses, physicians, administrators, or other residents. With a successful claim filed by an Arkansas nursing home abuse lawyer, you can recover financial compensation to address the following legal damages:

• Lost wages – If you are recovering in a nursing home and get injured further, you could claim lost income if the new injuries prevent you from earning an income
• Medical expenses – Costs associated with your treatment, including emergency room visits, surgery, medication, rehabilitation, and therapy, can be included in the settlement
• Future medical costs – If your medical needs persist after the incident, additional services could be covered by the settlement in the future
• Emotional distress – As a victim of abuse or neglect, you can claim compensation for psychological challenges, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, depression, fearfulness, or suicide ideation
• Pain and suffering – If your injuries are physical, the persistence of your suffering could increase your payout even more
• Loss of enjoyment of life – If you cannot find the same level of joy as you did pre-incident, your payout could increase

How Nursing Home Law Center Can Help

At the Nursing Home Law Center, we are committed to helping residents and their families pursue justice for their suffering. We understand the effect that a compassionate legal team can have on your mental well-being during an intense legal process.

Our firm can provide the following legal services:

• Investigating Legacy Health and Rehabilitation Center
• Gathering evidence of negligence
• Reporting institutional abuse to the Department of Health & Human Services
• Assessing all legal damages
• Negotiating with insurance companies
• Litigating in civil court

A Fort Smith nursing home abuse attorney will work with you on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we win. Contact us today at 800-926-7565 or complete the online form to schedule a free consultation.