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Buffalo Lake Health Care Center

703 West Yellowstone Trail, Buffalo Lake, MN 553143208335364Ownership: Non profit - CorporationCertified beds: 49Avg. daily residents: 45County: Renville

The complete public record on Buffalo Lake Health Care Center, a Medicare & Medicaid–certified nursing home in Buffalo Lake, Minnesota, from the CMS Care Compare database (August 2026 release). Every figure below is published by federal regulators; ClearPath adds the state comparisons and the plain-English reading.

CMS Star Ratings

Overall rating
★★★★☆
CMS’s composite of the three ratings below. Minnesota average: 3.2 stars.
Health inspection
★★★☆☆
Based on the last three years of on-site inspections and complaint investigations — the rating CMS weights most heavily.
Staffing
★★★★★
Nurse and aide hours per resident per day, adjusted for how much care residents need, plus staff turnover.
Quality measures
★★☆☆☆
Clinical outcomes CMS tracks, such as falls with injury, pressure ulcers and hospital readmissions.
Buffalo Lake Health Care Center holds a 4-star overall rating, in the top tier CMS assigns. Its health-inspection rating is lower than its overall rating — the overall score is being lifted by staffing or quality-measure ratings, which draw partly on facility-reported data. None of this tells you whether a bed is open, whether your insurance is in network, or whether the facility will accept a given level of care — confirm those three directly with the facility before you commit.

Staffing

4.60 total nurse staff hours per resident per day
above the state average (4.19)
0.76 RN hours per resident per day
below the state average (1.06)
3.90 weekend nurse staff hours per resident per day
42.6% total nursing staff turnover
about the state average (42.2)
0.0% RN turnover
0 administrators left in the reporting period

Hours are per resident per day, from payroll-based journal data facilities submit to CMS. Turnover is the share of nursing staff who left over the past year.

Inspections & Penalties

January 8, 2026 most recent standard health inspection
8 health deficiencies cited in the most recent inspection cycle
above the state average (7.0)
1 health deficiencies in the two prior cycles combined
$0 in federal fines across 0 penalties (last 3 years)
0 payment denials
CMS withholding Medicare/Medicaid payment for new admissions until problems were fixed

Recent Inspection Citations

13 citations on record across recent inspections. Showing the most recent inspection. Severity uses CMS’s A–L scope-and-severity scale; G and above means residents were actually harmed.

InspectionTagWhat was citedSeverity
January 8, 20260812Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with…F · Potential for more than minimal harm
January 8, 20260880Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.F · Potential for more than minimal harm
January 8, 20260882Designate a qualified infection preventionist to be responsible for the infection prevent and control program in the nursing home.F · Potential for more than minimal harm
January 8, 20260580Immediately tell the resident, the resident's doctor, and a family member of situations (injury/decline/room, etc.) that affect the…E · Potential for more than minimal harm
January 8, 20260645PASARR screening for Mental disorders or Intellectual DisabilitiesD · Potential for more than minimal harm
January 8, 20260684Provide appropriate treatment and care according to orders, resident’s preferences and goals.D · Potential for more than minimal harm
January 8, 20260808Ensure therapeutic diets are prescribed by the attending physician and may be delegated to a registered or licensed dietitian, to the…D · Potential for more than minimal harm
January 8, 20260881Implement a program that monitors antibiotic use.D · Potential for more than minimal harm

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Source: CMS Care Compare (data.cms.gov), August 2026 monthly release. Figures are as published by CMS and change monthly; ClearPath refreshes automatically. ClearPath Senior Guide is an independent information service, accepts no referral fees or placement incentives from any facility, and does not recommend facilities. Verify current details with the facility.