Nursing home · Top rated by CMS
The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing)
1401 Country Club Road, Lake Charles, LA 70605 · Map
For profit - Limited Liability company · 60 certified beds
The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) is a Medicare-certified nursing home in Lake Charles, Louisiana. CMS rates it 5 out of 5 stars overall (3/5 for staffing, 5/5 for health inspections). Nurse staffing is 5.28 hours per resident per day, above the Louisiana average of 3.81. Its most recent inspection on Jul 10, 2024 cited 3 deficiencies.
CMS quality ratings
Ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), updated monthly. 5 stars is the highest quality.
How The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) compares
This facility vs. the Louisiana and national averages, from CMS data. For staffing, higher is generally better; for turnover and deficiencies, lower is better.
| Metric | This facility | Louisiana avg | National avg | Compared with the state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 5.28 | 3.81 | 3.89 | above avg |
| RN staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 0.37 | 0.32 | 0.68 | above avg |
| Aide staffing (hrs/resident/day) | 3.06 | 2.32 | 2.34 | above avg |
| Nursing staff turnover | 64.7% | 48.0% | 46.4% | above avg |
| Deficiencies cited, last inspection | 3.0 | 8.3 | 9.5 | below avg |
Staffing
Hours per resident per day as reported to CMS. Higher numbers indicate more direct care time.
Staff turnover
Lower turnover typically indicates better working conditions and continuity of care. National average for nursing staff is 46.4%.
Recent health inspection
CMS inspects nursing facilities regularly. Deficiencies are categorized by severity.
- Every deficiency from the March 5, 2025 inspection was corrected by March 28, 2025
Penalties in CMS records: 1 total penalty, 1 Medicare payment denial.
What inspectors found at The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing)
Specific deficiencies cited in recent CMS health inspections, most recent first. Severity follows the CMS scope/severity scale. Source: CMS Care Compare.
- Potential for harm
Procure food from sources approved or considered satisfactory and store, prepare, distribute and serve food in accordance with professional standards.
Nutrition and Dietary Deficiencies · Mar 5, 2025 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Encode each resident’s assessment data and transmit these data to the State within 7 days of assessment.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Jul 10, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
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.
Resident Rights Deficiencies · Jul 10, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Set up an ongoing quality assessment and assurance group to review quality deficiencies and develop corrective plans of action.
Administration Deficiencies · Jan 23, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
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.
Pharmacy Service Deficiencies · Jan 23, 2024 · Full report (PDF)
Show all 12 deficiencies
- Potential for harm
Provide pharmaceutical services to meet the needs of each resident and employ or obtain the services of a licensed pharmacist.
Pharmacy Service Deficiencies · Jan 23, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident's needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Jan 23, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Ensure each resident receives an accurate assessment.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Jan 23, 2024 · Full report (PDF) - Potential for harm
Provide pharmaceutical services to meet the needs of each resident and employ or obtain the services of a licensed pharmacist.
Pharmacy Service Deficiencies · Jun 21, 2023 - Potential for harm
Ensure each resident receives an accurate assessment.
Resident Assessment and Care Planning Deficiencies · Jun 21, 2023 - Potential for harm
Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.
Infection Control Deficiencies · Jun 29, 2022 - Potential for harm
Ensure nurse aides have the skills they need to care for residents, and give nurse aides education in dementia care and abuse prevention.
Nursing and Physician Services Deficiencies · Jun 29, 2022
Read the full inspection reports on Medicare.gov Each inspection there has a “Read the full report” link with the inspectors’ written findings.
About this facility
- Address
- 1401 Country Club Road
Lake Charles, LA 70605 - CMS certification #
- 195636
- Ownership
- For profit - Limited Liability company
- Certified beds
- 60
- Avg residents/day
- 43.1
- Provider type
- Medicare
- First certified
- 2012-03-21
- Setting
- Urban
Not SLA enrolled. This facility hasn’t enrolled in resident survey verification. Learn about enrollment →
Location and nearby
Explore the area around The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) using Google Maps.
Other public records
- Website says Transportation
- Staff pay 1 federal wage case with violations found, since 2011
Full public records, with dates and sources
Care and services
From the community’s website
What The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) says about itself, quoted from its own site. We have not checked these claims against licensing records. Ask about each one on a tour.
- Provides transportation.
While working daily with our full-time therapy staff, our residents enjoy beautifully appointed living spaces, delicious meals, engaging social activities, transportation, and personalized assistance with care in our privately-owned facility.
(page, checked Oct 12, 2026) - Smoke-free.
For the safety and welfare of all residents and staff, we are a non-smoking facility.
(page, checked Oct 12, 2026)
Staff pay and workplace safety
Federal records about how the employer here treats its staff.
Federal wage and hour cases
The Department of Labor checks that staff are paid minimum wage and overtime as the law requires.
- Findings for May 18, 2011 to May 17, 2013. Violations found: Minimum wage, Overtime. Back wages: $3,572 owed to 18 employees. Employer as DOL recorded it: The Gardens & Guardian (Dementia Care, Inc.). Case 1679504.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, loaded Oct 15, 2026. Concluded cases only. The dates are the period in which DOL found violations, not when the case opened or closed. Back wages are what the employer agreed to pay; penalties are what DOL assessed. DOL does not publish a page for each case, so search the dataset by case number.
Location and nearby care
- Nearest hospital with an emergency room
- Christus Ochsner Lake Area Hospital, Lake Charles. 1.0 mile away, straight line.
- Nearest Medicare nursing home
- Resthaven Nursing & Rehab Center, LLC, Lake Charles. 0.6 miles away, straight line.
- Nearest home health agency office
- Amedisys Home Health, Lake Charles. 1.9 miles away, straight line. Agencies travel to clients, so ask which ones serve this address.
- Nearest pharmacy
- Thrifty Way. 0.5 miles away, straight line. From OpenStreetMap, which does not list every pharmacy, so one may be closer.
- Area
- USDA classes ZIP code 70605 as metropolitan (metropolitan core).
- Dialysis within 15 miles
- Davita Lake Charles Southwest Dialysis, Lake Charles, 2.8 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 2 of 5 stars)
Fmcna - Central Lake Charles Dx, Lake Charles, 3.1 miles away, straight line (has a shift starting after 5 pm; CMS rating 1 of 5 stars)
Fkc - Lake Charles Home, Lake Charles, 3.1 miles away, straight line (CMS rating 3 of 5 stars) - Hospice
- 8 Medicare hospices tell CMS they serve ZIP code 70605.
Harbor Hospice Of Lake Charles, Lp, office in Lake Charles, 0.6 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 3 of 5 stars)
Amedisys Hospice, office in Lake Charles, 1.9 miles away, straight line
Heart Of Hospice, office in Lake Charles, 2.3 miles away, straight line (CMS family survey rating 4 of 5 stars) - Nearest geriatric medicine practice
- Lsuhn Billing LLC, Lafayette. 71.7 miles away, straight line. 1 geriatric medicine doctor listed there.
Distances are straight lines from the community, not driving distance. Hospitals, home health, dialysis, hospice and doctors come from CMS provider data (CMS, hospital list updated Jul 22, 2026). Star ratings are CMS’s own.
Emergency and natural hazard risk
Public hazard maps for this location. Ask the community about its emergency plan, its generator and where residents would go in an evacuation.
- Flood zone
- Outside the high and moderate risk flood areas on FEMA's flood map (Zone X, minimal flood hazard, or not studied). (FEMA flood map)
- FEMA National Risk Index
- Overall: relatively high. By hazard: hurricane relatively high, inland flooding relatively high, coastal flooding relatively low, wildfire very low, tornado relatively high, heat wave relatively moderate, earthquake very low. These are FEMA’s ratings for the census tract, compared with tracts nationwide. (FEMA, December 2025)
A flood zone describes the map at this point, not the building's elevation. In an emergency, follow the local emergency management agency.
What we checked
Every public source we searched for this community. “Nothing on record” means we found no record that matched it. A record can be missed when a name or address differs.
| Source | Data as of | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour cases | Oct 15, 2026 | See above |
| OSHA workplace safety inspections since 2016 | Oct 15, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| FEMA flood map | See above | |
| USDA wildfire risk | Apr 15, 2026 | Not shown: FEMA rates wildfire risk here very low |
| FEMA National Risk Index | See above | |
| CMS hospitals, home health, dialysis, hospice and doctors; OpenStreetMap pharmacies | See above | |
| HUD Multifamily Properties - Assisted | Jul 6, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| State Veterans Homes (NASVH directory) | Sep 20, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Hospice - General Information | Aug 19, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| CMS Home Health Care Agencies | May 27, 2026 | Nothing on record |
| The community’s own website | See above |
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Frequently asked questions
Is The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) a good nursing home?
CMS gives The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars, including 3/5 for staffing and 5/5 for health inspections. These ratings come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and are updated monthly.
How is The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) staffed?
The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) reports 5.28 total nurse hours per resident per day, compared with the Louisiana average of 3.81.
Has The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) had inspection problems?
Its most recent CMS inspection cited 3 deficiencies.
How many beds does The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) have?
The Gardens and Guardian (Skilled Nursing) is certified for 60 beds.