ELLSWORTH — An Ellsworth nursing home that had been threatened with losing its federal funding has corrected all violations found during an August state inspection. A follow-up inspection last week determined that the Courtland Rehabilitation and Living Center is now in “substantial compliance” with federal regulations.

Courtland is owned by North Country Associates, based in Lewiston, which operates 14 nursing homes around the state. Courtland has 68 residents, almost all of whom are in wheelchairs, plus 20 temporary patients in the rehabilitation program.

The U.S. Health Care Finance Administration had ordered that the government terminate its “provider agreement” with Courtland on Oct. 1 if the facility did not correct the numerous violations found in a weeklong state inspection at the end of August. That would have meant a loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding.

The violations were considered so severe as to put residents in “immediate jeopardy” of their health and safety. Most occurred in the wing of the nursing home where patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia live.

The August inspection report said several Courtland residents suffered from pressure sores and skin conditions that were not treated promptly and that a few residents had been given unjustified doses of medication.

The inspectors found that some residents were not repositioned often enough in their wheelchairs or beds, and some spent an entire Saturday or Sunday without once being assisted out of bed.

The facility also did not adequately assess residents’ conditions nor monitor cases of declining health, according to the report, and the staff violated residents’ privacy rights by discussing their health in places where they could be overheard.

Courtland also was cited for not providing enough “meaningful activities” for residents, and for inadequate safety measures that allowed an Alzheimer’s disease patient to wander out of the nursing home.

Upon review, the state’s Bureau of Licensing and Certification decided that the violations constituted “immediate jeopardy,” and sent that recommendation to the federal Health Care Finance Administration in Boston.

“I reviewed it,” said Louis Dorogi, the state bureau’s director. “It was my determination that it was serious and immediate jeopardy.” The state inspects nursing homes for HCFA, which oversees all providers that receive Medicaid and Medicare funding. Serious jeopardy is the highest level of noncompliance.

In addition to losing Medicaid and Medicare funding, the Health Care Finance Administration said it would not fund any new patient admissions until the facility had corrected the violations, and that Courtland could be fined up to $10,000 a day until it achieved compliance.

North Country Associates officials say they had already taken action to bring the facility back into compliance by Sept. 8, when federal officials sent the letter telling them about the seriousness of the violations.

“We had pretty much fixed everything before we were notified by HCFA that there was immediate jeopardy,” said Wayde Rankin, North Country vice president of operations. Rankin is now the temporary manager of Courtland.

During and after the weeklong survey, North Country Associates sent a task force of nursing consultants and other staff to Courtland. The task force spent two weeks retraining the staff on procedures to bring the facility back into compliance. North Country also brought in a new nursing director and created a program director position to oversee the wing where most of the problems were identified.

Though the facility is now considered in compliance, the Health Care Finance Administration may still fine Courtland for the period between Sept. 8 and 22.

“They indicated that it would be $4,000 a day,” said Dorogi, or $56,000 for the 14-day period. That fine could drop to $36,400 if North Country does not appeal the August survey’s findings. Rankin said they probably will not.

“Just from a financial standpoint, we probably won’t do it,” said Rankin. “But we don’t believe things were in that condition.”

Courtland held an open house Wednesday night for residents’ families to discuss the report and the improvements the nursing home has made.

“We have been humbled by this experience,” said Courtland administrator Paul Marston, “but we are moving forward.”