Home / Wyoming / Fort Washakie
Morning Star Care Center
4 North Fork Rd, Fort Washakie, WY 82514 · Fremont County · (307) 332-6902
45 certified beds, about 33 residents a day · Government - Federal · Medicare and Medicaid since 1994
CMS Care Compare ratings, data as of September 1, 2026 · CCN 535050 · See it on Medicare.gov · Compare with other homes
The record in brief
At its most recent standard inspection, on April 10, 2025, inspectors cited 1 health deficiency (the Wyoming average is 7.8, the national average 9.2).
None of its 16 health citations since January 2023 was rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
CMS lists 1 fine totaling $5,168 in the last three years; the largest was $5,168, and the latest is dated November 5, 2024.
Nurses and nurse aides worked 5.23 hours per resident per day, against 3.87 across Wyoming and 3.86 nationally. Registered nurses accounted for 1.04 of those hours.
Health inspections
Federal rules call for a standard inspection at least every 15 months, plus a visit whenever a complaint is filed. Each mark below is one citation, colored by how serious inspectors rated it. How to read a citation.
Under each citation, the quoted text is the inspector's own summary from the federal statement of deficiencies (CMS form 2567), word for word apart from a privacy scrub; CMS removes residents' and staff names before it publishes the text. The full notes are on Medicare.gov.
Where its citations fall on CMS's grid
CMS rates every citation by how much harm it caused (rows) and how many residents it touched (columns). The count in each box is this home's, across all 16 health citations on file.
April 10, 2025Standard inspection · 1 citation
- D Ensure each resident receives an accurate assessment.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review, staff interview, and MDS 3.0 Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) manual review, the facility failed to ensure MDS assessments were accurate for 1 of 3 sample residents (#22) reviewed for MDS discrepancies.
November 5, 2024Complaint inspection · 2 citations
- D Not transfer or discharge a resident without an adequate reason; and must provide documentation and convey specific information when a resident is transferred or discharged.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review, and resident representative and staff interview, the facility failed to ensure resident's transferred to the hospital were allowed to return to the the facility for 1 of 3 sample residents (#1) reviewed for hospital transfers.
- D Provide medically-related social services to help each resident achieve the highest possible quality of life.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review, resident representative and staff interview, and Medicaid e-mail review, the facility failed to ensure medically-related social services assisted with financial matters for 1 of 3 sample residents (#1).
January 25, 2024Standard inspection · 7 citations
- E Ensure a licensed pharmacist perform a monthly drug regimen review, including the medical chart, following irregularity reporting guidelines in developed policies and procedures.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review and staff interview, the facility failed to ensure the pharmacist identified and reported irregularities to the physician during the monthly drug regimen review for 3 of 5 sample residents (#2, #19, #23) reviewed for unnecessary medications.
- E Implement gradual dose reductions(GDR) and non-pharmacological interventions, unless contraindicated, prior to initiating or instead of continuing psychotropic medication; and PRN orders for psychotropic medications are only used when the medication is necessary and PRN use is limited.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review and staff interview, the facility failed to ensure residents on psychotropic medications received gradual dose reductions (GDRs) and PRN orders for psychotropic medications were limited to 14 days for 3 of 5 sample residents (#2, #19, #23) reviewed for unnecessary medications.
- D Honor the resident's right to request, refuse, and/or discontinue treatment, to participate in or refuse to participate in experimental research, and to formulate an advance directive.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review, staff and resident interviews, and review of facility policies, the facility failed to ensure the resident's right to refuse treatment was protected for 1 of 10 sample residents (#24). The resident's refusals resulted in negative consequences implemented by the facility.
- D Ensure necessary information is communicated to the resident, and receiving health care provider at the time of a planned discharge.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review and staff interview, the facility failed to ensure a discharge summary which included a recapitulation of stay was completed for 1 or 1 sample resident (#29) who was discharged .
- D Provide safe, appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review, and staff and resident interviews, the facility failed to ensure pain management was provided to meet the needs of the resident for 1 of 1 sample resident (#2) reviewed for pain management.
- D Provide pharmaceutical services to meet the needs of each resident and employ or obtain the services of a licensed pharmacist.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review and staff and resident interviews, the facility failed to provide routine medications for 1 of 9 sample residents (#2) who were reviewed for medications.
- D Develop and implement policies and procedures for flu and pneumonia vaccinations.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review, staff interview and review of facility policy and procedures, the facility failed to ensure residents were offered or received the pneumococcal immunization for 2 out of 5 sample residents (#15, #19) reviewed for immunizations.
January 12, 2023Standard inspection · 6 citations
- E Implement gradual dose reductions(GDR) and non-pharmacological interventions, unless contraindicated, prior to initiating or instead of continuing psychotropic medication; and PRN orders for psychotropic medications are only used when the medication is necessary and PRN use is limited.
Inspectors wroteBased on staff interview, medical record review, and policy and procedure review, the facility failed to ensure PRN (as needed) orders for anti-psychotic medications were limited to 14 days for 2 of 5 sample elders (#16, #22) and failed to ensure appropriate behavior monitoring and interventions were in place for 3 of 5 sample elders (#2, #11, #16) reviewed for psychotropic medication use.
- D Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review, elder representative and staff interview, and policy and procedure review, the facility failed to ensure injuries of unknown origin were reported for 1 of 6 sample elders (#16) reviewed for abuse.
- D Respond appropriately to all alleged violations.
Inspectors wroteBased on medical record review, elder representative and staff interview, and policy and procedure review, the facility failed to ensure injuries of unknown origin were investigated for 1 of 6 sample elders (#16) reviewed for abuse.
- D Assess the resident when there is a significant change in condition
Inspectors wroteBased on observation, medical record review, staff interview, and review of the CMS RAI manual version 3.0, the facility failed to ensure a significant change assessment was completed as indicated for 1 of 12 sample elders (#22).
- D Develop the complete care plan within 7 days of the comprehensive assessment; and prepared, reviewed, and revised by a team of health professionals.
Inspectors wroteBased on elder representative and staff interview, and medical record review, the facility failed to ensure elders or elders' representative were included in care plan development for 1 of 12 sample elders (#16).
- D Provide appropriate care for a resident to maintain and/or improve range of motion (ROM), limited ROM and/or mobility, unless a decline is for a medical reason.
Inspectors wroteBased on observation, elder and staff interview, medical record review, and policy and procedure review, the facility failed to ensure elders received services to maintain range of motion for 2 of 4 sample elders (#4, #22) reviewed for range of motion.
Fire safety inspections
12 fire safety citations on file: 5 on April 10, 2025, 3 on January 25, 2024, 4 on January 12, 2023.
Every fire safety citation12 citations
- F Have approved installation, maintenance and testing program for fire alarm systems.
- F Inspect, test, and maintain automatic sprinkler systems.
- F Have simulated fire drills held at unexpected times.
- F To conduct inspection, testing and maintenance of fire doors by qualified individuals.
- E Have proper medical gas storage and administration areas.
- F Have approved installation, maintenance and testing program for fire alarm systems.
- F Inspect, test, and maintain automatic sprinkler systems.
- E Ensure proper usage of power strips and extension cords.
- F Implement emergency and standby power systems.
- F Have approved installation, maintenance and testing program for fire alarm systems.
- F Have generator or other power source capable of supplying service within 10 seconds.
- E Provide properly protected cooking facilities.
Fines and payment denials
| Date | Penalty | Amount or length |
|---|---|---|
| November 5, 2024 | Fine | $5,168 |
A payment denial means Medicare and Medicaid stopped paying for new admissions for that period.
Staffing
Hours of care per resident per day, from the payroll records every home sends CMS. Higher means more staff time with each resident.
| Measure | This home | Wyoming | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| All nursing staff (RN, LPN and aides) | 5.23 | 3.87 | 3.86 |
| Registered nurses | 1.04 | 0.94 | 0.69 |
| All nursing staff on weekends | 3.98 | 3.37 | 3.42 |
| Nurse aides | 3.87 | ||
| Licensed practical nurses | 0.32 | ||
| Nursing staff turnover (share who left in a year) | not reported | 51.8% | 45.8% |
| Registered nurse turnover | not reported | 44.1% | 42.9% |
| Administrators who left | not reported |
CMS expects 3.18 hours a day for residents as sick as this home's (its case-mix figure). The staffing star compares the two.
Staffing by quarter, from daily payroll records
Every nursing home sends CMS its staff hours for each day (the Payroll Based Journal). Here they are added up by quarter. The latest quarter is the one behind the figures above. In January to March 2026, nursing staff hours per resident were 5.74 on weekdays and 3.98 on weekends, 31% lower on weekends (nationally, weekends ran 15% lower). Contract or agency staff worked 0.0% of nursing hours, against 5.3% nationally. Total nursing hours per resident went from 6.13 in April to June 2025 to 5.23 in January to March 2026.
| Quarter | All nursing staff | Registered nurses | Weekdays | Weekends | Contract staff share | Days with no RN hours | Residents a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan to Mar 2026 | 5.23 | 1.04 | 5.74 | 3.98 | 0.0% | 0 of 90 | 33 |
| Oct to Dec 2025 | 5.15 | 1.11 | 5.67 | 3.83 | 0.2% | 0 of 92 | 31 |
| Jul to Sep 2025 | 5.99 | 1.18 | 6.58 | 4.49 | 4.1% | 0 of 92 | 29 |
| Apr to Jun 2025 | 6.13 | 1.38 | 6.81 | 4.43 | 2.8% | 0 of 91 | 28 |
| United States, Jan to Mar 2026 | 3.75 | 0.62 | 3.92 | 3.33 | 5.3% | 0.5% of days | |
| Wyoming, Jan to Mar 2026 | 3.61 | 0.86 | 3.80 | 3.15 | 7.5% | 0.1% of days |
Hours per resident per day: staff hours in the quarter divided by resident days (the daily census CMS derives from resident assessments). Registered nurses include the director of nursing and RNs with administrative duties; aides include nurse aides in training and medication aides, as in CMS's own staffing measure. How these are calculated.
Staff pay reports
Staff pay at this home
No staff pay figure for this home has passed review yet. A figure appears only after at least 5 reports from at least 3 different people, sent over at least 60 days, have passed review.
Official wage estimates for Wyoming
| Job | Median | Middle half | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming, all employers | |||
| CNAs (nursing assistants) | $18.83 | $17.88 to $22.76 | 2,830 |
| LPNs and LVNs | $30.51 | $28.27 to $34.06 | 480 |
| Registered nurses | $40.27 | $37.45 to $48.61 | 5,330 |
| United States, nursing care facilities | |||
| CNAs (nursing assistants) | $20.67 | $17.91 to $22.55 | 534,270 |
| LPNs and LVNs | $33.86 | $30.05 to $37.40 | 188,210 |
| Registered nurses | $41.11 | $37.85 to $47.68 | 142,270 |
Hourly wages; the middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. BLS has no separate estimate for medication aides. These are survey estimates for whole occupations, not figures for any one home.
Quality measures
The measures CMS uses for the quality star. Lower is better for every one of them.
| Measure | This home | Wyoming | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of long-stay residents whose need for help with daily activities has increased Long Stay residents, 2025Q2-2026Q1 | 14.0 | 16.8 | 13.9 |
| Percentage of long-stay residents with a catheter inserted and left in their bladder Long Stay residents, 2025Q2-2026Q1 | 9.3 | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| Percentage of long-stay residents with a urinary tract infection Long Stay residents, 2025Q2-2026Q1 | 12.4 | 3.0 | 1.6 |
| Percentage of long-stay residents experiencing one or more falls with major injury Long Stay residents, 2025Q2-2026Q1 | 1.8 | 4.7 | 3.2 |
| Percentage of long-stay residents whose ability to walk independently worsened Long Stay residents, 2025Q2-2026Q1 | 9.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 |
| Percentage of long-stay residents with pressure ulcers Long Stay residents, 2025Q2-2026Q1 | 15.1 | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Percentage of long-stay residents who received an antipsychotic medication Long Stay residents, 2025Q2-2026Q1 | 25.3 | 21.8 | 15.4 |
| Number of hospitalizations per 1000 long-stay resident days Long Stay residents, 20250101-20251231 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.9 |
| Number of outpatient emergency department visits per 1000 long-stay resident days Long Stay residents, 20250101-20251231 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 1.8 |
Owners and operators
Legal business name: MORNING STAR CARE CENTER.
| Name | Role | Type | Share | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morning Star Care Center | 5% or greater direct ownership interest | Organization | 100% | 01/01/1986 |
| Hash, Tiffany | Operational/managerial control | Individual | 01/01/2025 | |
| Rivera, Kaeli | Operational/managerial control | Individual | 01/01/2025 | |
| St. Clair, Robin | Operational/managerial control | Individual | 01/01/2025 | |
| Hash, Tiffany | Adp of the SNF | Individual | 01/01/2025 | |
| Rivera, Kaeli | Adp of the SNF | Individual | 01/01/2025 | |
| St. Clair, Robin | Adp of the SNF | Individual | 01/01/2025 |
As listed in the CMS ownership file, which names owners with a 5% or greater stake and the people and companies with operational or managerial control.
Questions to ask on a visit
Chosen from this home's own inspection record.
- When is the care plan meeting, and can family attend it?Inspectors cited 4 problems in this area, most recently on April 10, 2025: "Ensure each resident receives an accurate assessment."
- How are medications reviewed, and how often are antipsychotic or sedating drugs used?Inspectors cited 4 problems in this area, most recently on January 25, 2024: "Ensure a licensed pharmacist perform a monthly drug regimen review, including the medical chart, following irregularity reporting guidelines in developed policies and procedures."
- How do you prevent falls and pressure injuries, and how are families told when one happens?Inspectors cited 3 problems in this area, most recently on November 5, 2024: "Provide medically-related social services to help each resident achieve the highest possible quality of life."
- How do residents and families raise a complaint or grievance, and how fast is it answered?Inspectors cited 2 problems in this area, most recently on November 5, 2024: "Not transfer or discharge a resident without an adequate reason; and must provide documentation and convey specific information when a resident is transferred or discharged."
Other nursing homes nearby
- Mountain View Skilled Nursing Community at Wlrc Lander, 13.5 mi · 2 of 5 stars · 19 citations
- Westward Heights Care Center Lander, 14.6 mi · 4 of 5 stars · 9 citations
Wyoming contacts for a concern about a nursing home
These are the official offices in Wyoming. NursingHomeClear cannot take or act on complaints.
- Inspections and complaints: Wyoming Department of Health, Healthcare Licensing and Surveys, the state agency that inspects nursing homes for CMS and takes complaints about care.
- Resident advocate: Wyoming Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, 307-287-7757. The long-term care ombudsman is a free, confidential advocate for residents and families, set up under the federal Older Americans Act.
- State inspection reports: Wyoming HLS Newest Facility Inspection Reports, where Wyoming publishes its own records on licensed homes.
Common questions
- What is Morning Star Care Center's Medicare star rating?
- CMS rates Morning Star Care Center 4 out of 5 stars overall, with 4 for health inspections, 4 for staffing and 2 for quality measures (CMS data as of September 1, 2026).
- How many deficiencies did Morning Star Care Center get at its last inspection?
- 1 health deficiency at the standard inspection on April 10, 2025. The Wyoming average is 7.8.
- Has Morning Star Care Center been fined?
- Yes. CMS lists 1 fine totaling $5,168 in the last three years.
- Does Morning Star Care Center accept Medicaid?
- It is certified to take Medicaid (CMS lists it as "Medicare and Medicaid"). Certification does not mean a Medicaid bed is open: ask the admissions office.
- Who owns Morning Star Care Center?
- CMS lists 7 owners and managers. Legal business name: MORNING STAR CARE CENTER.
Sources
- Ratings, staffing and fines: CMS Provider Information, released September 30, 2026, data as of September 1, 2026.
- Citations: CMS Health Deficiencies and Fire Safety Deficiencies.
- Owners: CMS Ownership. Penalties: CMS Penalties.
- Staffing by quarter: CMS Payroll Based Journal Daily Nurse Staffing, April 2025 to March 2026, summed by NursingHomeClear.
- Inspector summaries: CMS Full Statement of Deficiencies (CMS-2567 text), data as of September 1, 2026. Each quote is the part of the statement before the detailed findings.
- Inspection reports with the inspectors' full notes are on this home's Medicare.gov page.
- Something wrong on this page? Ask for a correction. We fix errors in our copy of the data; findings themselves can only be changed by CMS and the state.
- NursingHomeClear is independent and not affiliated with CMS, Medicare or any state agency. This page reports federal records; it does not rate, recommend or endorse any home, and it is not medical or legal advice.