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Nursing homeFAID #8988

Life Care Center of Banner Elk

185 NORWOOD HOLLOW ROAD, BANNER ELK, NC, 28604

(828) 898-5136

lcca.com

118 licensed beds

★★★★★4/5CMS Five-Star overall4/5 health inspections3/5 staffing3/5 quality measuresSource: CMS Care Compare

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Photo via Google · Life Care Center of Banner Elk

Address

185 Norwood Hollow Road

Banner Elk, NC 28604

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Public record summary

What we can show you for free.

Bed capacity

118

CMS facility ID

345203

Care type

Nursing home

County

Avery

Facility name

Life Care Center of Banner Elk

Street address

185 NORWOOD HOLLOW ROAD

City / state / ZIP

Banner Elk, NC 28604

Phone

(828) 898-5136

Website

lcca.com

About this facility — Life Care Center of Banner Elk

Life Care Center of Banner Elk is a Medicare/Medicaid-certified skilled nursing facility in Banner Elk, North Carolina. It is licensed for 118 beds — above the median for skilled nursing facilities in North Carolina (102 beds).

It is one of 1 senior care facility in Banner Elk and 420 skilled nursing facilities across North Carolina. Families comparing options should weigh inspection history, ownership record, and litigation — not just the tour — before deciding.

Federal inspectors have cited Life Care Center of Banner Elk 11 times across 6 inspections in the last three years; no federal fines are on record. Every citation is listed, dated, and graded in the inspection record below.

This listing draws on federal CMS Nursing Home Compare records, and was last updated on August 31, 2026. Background reports are compiled from primary sources — state inspection files, federal CMS data, corporate registrations, and court records — at the time of order.

Facility background

What the public record shows.

Ownership & operator

Parent company

Life Care Centers of America

Ownership type

For profit - Corporation

Registered owners & officers

Barker, Joseph

Operational control · Additional disclosable party — since 2022

Cross, Cindy

Officer — since 2015

Developers Investment Company Inc

Direct owner · Operational control — since 2015

Fletcher, Todd

Operational control — since 2024

Henry, Terry

Officer — since 2015

Kilpatrick, Lynn

Governing body · Operational control · Additional disclosable party — since 2013

Laws, Brandy

Governing body · Operational control — since 2025

Lay, Lisa

Officer — since 2018

Life Care Centers of America, Inc.

Operational control · Additional disclosable party — since 2015

Preston, Aubrey

Operational control — since 2024

Preston, Forrest

Indirect owner · Additional disclosable party — since 2000

Solomon, Jennifer

Governing body · Operational control — since 2019

Swanker, Richard

Officer — since 2015

Thurmond, Joan

Officer — since 2015

Ziegler, James

Operational control — since 2024

Regulatory standing

Federal court records

20 naming its parent company — view the cases (a listed case is not a finding of wrongdoing)

Licensed / certified since

1981-10-01

CMS overall rating

4 of 5 stars

Health deficiencies

3 at the last standard inspection

Federal fines

None on record

Last standard inspection

2025-08-06

Nurse staffing

3.2 hours per resident per day

Cost & payer profile (FY2023 cost report)

Average billed charges

$351 per day (≈ $10,670/month). Private-pay prices typically track billed charges; Medicare and Medicaid pay set rates.

Payer mix (resident days)

56% Medicaid · 10% Medicare · 34% private/other

Occupancy

58% (fiscal year 2023)

Vs. state median

6% below the NC median of $373/day — full state cost breakdown

Services & coverage

Licensed beds

118

Medicare

Accepted

Medicaid

Accepted

Wheelchair accessible

entrance and parking

Visiting hours

Daily Open 24 hours

Compiled from CMS Nursing Home Compare; owners/officers from the CMS Ownership dataset; cost & occupancy from the facility's own CMS cost report; hours/accessibility via Google · last verified 2026-08-31. Facilities can submit a correction.

Inspection record

Every citation, dated and graded.

Kitchen & food safety

CleanNo food-safety or dietary citations in the last three years of federal inspections.

2025-08-06Health inspection3 citations

F-0690

D · No harm found

Provide appropriate care for residents who are continent or incontinent of bowel/bladder, appropriate catheter care, and appropriate care to prevent urinary tract infections.

Corrected 2025-08-22

F-0761

D · No harm found

Ensure drugs and biologicals used in the facility are labeled in accordance with currently accepted professional principles; and all drugs and biologicals must be stored in locked compartments, separately locked, compartments for controlled drugs.

Corrected 2025-08-22

F-0880

D · No harm found

Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.

Corrected 2025-08-22

2024-08-21Health inspection3 citations

F-0565

D · No harm found

Honor the resident's right to organize and participate in resident/family groups in the facility.

Corrected 2024-09-12

F-0679

E · No harm found

Provide activities to meet all resident's needs.

Corrected 2024-09-12

F-0700

D · No harm found

Try different approaches before using a bed rail. If a bed rail is needed, the facility must (1) assess a resident for safety risk; (2) review these risks and benefits with the resident/representative; (3) get informed consent; and (4) Correctly install and maintain the bed rail.

Corrected 2024-09-12

2 earlier / fire-safety inspections (5 citations)

2023-05-24Health inspection1 citation

F-0688

D · No harm found

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.

Corrected 2023-06-12

2023-05-24Fire-safety inspection4 citations

K-0211

D · No harm found

Keep aisles, corridors, and exits free of obstruction in case of emergency.

Corrected 2023-08-01

K-0372

D · No harm found

Ensure smoke barriers are constructed to a 1 hour fire resistance rating.

Corrected 2023-08-01

K-0511

D · No harm found

Have properly installed electrical wiring and gas equipment.

Corrected 2023-08-01

K-0911

D · No harm found

Meet requirements for the installation and maintenance of electrical systems.

Corrected 2023-08-01

Citations and penalties from the CMS Provider Data Catalog (three-year survey window, refreshed monthly). Severity codes follow the federal scope/severity grid; “Immediate jeopardy” is the most serious grade CMS issues. CCN 345203.

Visitor reviews

What people say on Google.

4.6130 ratings on Google

★★★★★Ena Holman · 2026-05-13 · via Google
“Very nice facility.. friendly and professional staff..clean facility, no clutter . Decorated appropriately and pleasing atmosphere. Patient was well cared for, clean, safe and dry.”

★★★★★Peggy Pearson · 2026-04-20 · via Google
“This is a wonderful place to rehab. The staff (in every position) is incredibly kind, patient, professional, hard working, very dedicated to the health, comfort, and progress of the patients.”

★★★★★Martha Shore · 2025-08-07 · via Google
“I have visited my sister at Life Care over the last 10 days or so. . It’s always clean and all the staff are friendly and helpful. But the most important things is, the care my sister has received. She didn’t want to go to rehab. But they’ve done such a wonderful job caring for her, that it’s almost been a vacation for her. And she’s doing so much better. Thank you to each of you caring for her!!”

Ratings and reviews are from Google and reflect visitor opinions, not our verification. See all reviews on Google

Inside your report

What unlocks when you order.

Ownership & corporate history

Primary tier

Prior operators & transfers

Corporate network & affiliates

Owners' other facilities

· · 2 more

Inspection citations — last 5 years

Locked

The 11 citations above are shown free. The report takes each one and explains it in plain English — what the tag requires, how serious the scope/severity grade really is, whether it recurred across surveys — plus the five-year pattern a single inspection can't show.

Civil & criminal lawsuits

Advanced tier only

Active civil suits

Federal dockets

CDC infection data

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Citations, owner history, lawsuits — decoded into one PDF.

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Original records

Sources we pull for this facility.

Source

CMS Nursing Home Compare

data.cms.gov Provider Data Catalog

Last verified 2026-08-31

Source

Google Business Profile

Photos, reviews & hours

Displayed with attribution · refreshed on re-run

Source

Secretary of State filings

Entity & officer search

Pulled when a report is ordered

Source

PACER federal dockets

pacer.uscourts.gov

Pulled when a report is ordered