Life Care Center of Athens
1234 Frye Street Po Box 786, Athens, TN 37371 · 128 beds · For profit - Corporation
The records flag: Medicare's abuse flag is set; 1 citation at the most serious level.
These are drawn straight from Medicare's records. We report what the record says — we don't rate facilities or judge the care given in them.
Who's actually on the floor
Staffing is the thing most closely tied to day-to-day quality of care, and it's the number families most often never see. This is registered nurses only — a smaller figure than the all-staff total above, because it counts the most highly qualified staff on their own — per resident, per day, comparing an average weekday against an average weekend.
Registered nurses only — hours per resident per day. Longer is better.
Registered nurse coverage is about 18% lower at weekends.
Staff turnover: 29%
High turnover matters because continuity does — a nurse who knows your mother notices when something is different about her. Someone on their second shift doesn't have that baseline.
What inspectors found
State inspectors visit at least once a year and after complaints. Over the last three years this facility received 16 citations. Raw counts mislead, though — a paperwork slip and a resident being harmed both count as one. Here they are by how serious inspectors judged them.
| Severity | Citations |
|---|---|
| Immediate jeopardy | 1 |
| Potential for harm | 15 |
| No harm | 0 |
0 of these came from someone filing a complaint rather than a routine visit — worth weighing differently, because it means a person picked up the phone. All findings are recorded as corrected.
Disclosed affiliations
Medicare requires every facility to disclose the people and companies connected to it. Most names below are not owners — they are officers, directors, managers, trustees, and what Medicare calls “additional disclosable parties.” The role beside each name is the one Medicare recorded. This is worth reading because operators tend to run their facilities alike: where the same group stands behind a dozen homes, the record across all twelve tells you more than any single inspection does.
| Name | Role recorded by Medicare | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Preston, Forrest | Direct owner, Corporate director, Corporate officer, Operational or managerial control, Additional disclosable party | 01/06/1976 |
| Fletcher, Todd | Corporate director, Corporate officer, Operational or managerial control | 11/02/2020 |
| Goodman, Susan | Governing body, Operational or managerial control | 03/15/2011 |
| Lay, Lisa | Corporate director, Corporate officer, Operational or managerial control | 04/24/2017 |
| Life Care Centers of America, INC. | Operational or managerial control, Additional disclosable party | 04/01/1994 |
| Malone, Joshue | Governing body, Operational or managerial control, Additional disclosable party | 10/23/2023 |
| Preston, Aubrey | Operational or managerial control | 11/27/2024 |
| Solomon, Jennifer | Governing body, Operational or managerial control | 05/01/2019 |
| Swanker, Richard | Corporate director, Corporate officer, Operational or managerial control | 04/01/2011 |
| Turnbough, Vickie | Operational or managerial control, Additional disclosable party | 09/01/2019 |
| Ziegler, James | Corporate director, Corporate officer, Operational or managerial control | 08/16/1999 |
| Cross, Cindy | Corporate officer | 04/21/1994 |
| Henry, Terry | Corporate officer | 08/16/1999 |
| Thurmond, Joan | Corporate officer | 09/22/2000 |
Other options nearby
Most families are choosing between whatever is close enough to visit often — and visiting often is itself one of the better protections a resident has. These are the closest 8 facilities.
| Facility | Miles | Rating | Nurse hrs | Weekend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nhc Healthcare, Athens | 0.7 | 4 | 0.54 | −41% |
| Starr Regional Health & Rehabilitation | 7.2 | 5 | 0.92 | −52% |
| Etowah Health and Rehabilitation | 8.8 | 1 | 0.59 | −17% |
| Waters of Sweetwater A Rehabilitation & Nursing | 11.3 | 2 | 0.30 | −33% |
| Decatur Wellness and Rehabilitation Center | 12.3 | 3 | 0.28 | −18% |
| Monroe Health and Rehabilitation Center | 13.1 | 3 | 0.58 | −26% |
| Wood Village | 13.2 | 5 | 0.42 | −32% |
| Life Care Center of Rhea County | 22.3 | 4 | 0.40 | −46% |
Worth asking on a visit
Records only tell you so much. These are the questions this facility's particular numbers suggest you ask — go on a weekend if you possibly can.
- Medicare's records show a citation at the most serious level. What happened, and what changed afterwards?
- Who will actually be caring for my relative at 3am on a Saturday — an agency nurse or someone on staff?