Located at 101 13th Street in Huntington, Heritage Care Center is a 160-bed skilled nursing facility operated by Pulaski Memorial Hospital in Cabell County. The facility serves predominantly Medicaid-supported residents (84.8% of census) across its skilled nursing, memory care, and hospice units. Administrative leadership includes Elizabeth Townsend and Executive Director Gretchen Vakiener, who brings over two decades of senior care experience.
A 1-star CMS overall rating frames the community’s regulatory performance. All four CMS sub-categories; health inspections, staffing levels, quality measures, and outcomes, carry 1-star designations.
Complaint investigations beginning in 2023 substantiated immediate jeopardy findings involving sexual abuse allegations and code status documentation failures. In March 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services imposed a $92,000 federal civil money penalty for noncompliance. The most recent state inspection on September 30, 2025, identified deficiencies in basic activities of daily living assistance, pressure ulcer prevention and care, and sanitation of food-service equipment.
Nursing staffing averages 2 hours 52 minutes per resident daily, running 17% below the West Virginia state average. Weekend registered nurse presence drops to just 13 minutes per resident per day, 43% lower than the state average and critically insufficient for a community managing complex medical needs. Physical therapy services, essential for a facility serving short-term rehabilitation, average 2 minutes per resident daily, 33% below state norms.
Among long-stay residents, pressure ulcers affect 9.8% of those at high risk, nearly double the state average. Functional decline and activities of daily living decline affect roughly one in four long-stay residents.
Among short-stay Medicare patients undergoing rehabilitation, only 20% discharge with expected self-care ability intact. Newly initiated antipsychotic medications appear in 4% of short-stay admissions, four times the state rate and suggesting possible chemical management of behavioral issues rather than therapeutic intervention.
The facility maintains 98% occupancy in a 137-bed-average census, indicating strong community demand.
Amenities include private and semi-private accommodations with river views, on-site beauty and barber services, cable television, and respite care options. Specific programs include the Daybreak Program and Wellness Programs.
Heritage Care Center’s care model aligns with long-term Medicaid residents and short-term rehabilitation admissions, though its quality and clinical performance data suggest significant systemic challenges.
