Staffing Shortages on Weekends
Summary
The facility failed to ensure sufficient nursing staff were available to meet the needs of residents, particularly on weekends. The facility's policy on staffing guidelines, which was reviewed in September 2024, emphasized the importance of adequate and competent staffing levels based on the Facility Assessment. However, the Payroll Based Journal Staffing Data Report for the third quarter of 2024 indicated excessively low staffing levels on weekends, which was confirmed by a review of the actual weekend staffing schedules from April to June 2024. The facility's staffing plan outlined specific numbers of Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) required for each shift, but these numbers were not met, leading to significant staff shortages. Interviews with staff members, including CNAs and LPNs, revealed that the facility frequently operated with insufficient staff, resulting in increased workloads and stress for the remaining staff. CNAs reported having to prioritize essential tasks such as personal care and feeding residents, often having to rush to complete their duties. LPNs expressed feeling overwhelmed due to the responsibility of administering medications to all residents on their units, despite having another nurse present. The staff shortages were attributed to frequent call-outs and the difficulty in finding replacements, particularly on weekends. The facility's administration, including the Human Resources Director and the Director of Nursing, acknowledged the staffing challenges but believed that the current staffing levels were adequate based on the facility's acuity. However, the facility was flagged for not meeting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services mandate of 3.5 hours of care per patient per day. Despite efforts to hire more staff, the facility struggled to retain them, and the staffing levels listed in the Facility Assessment did not reflect the actual staffing on the units. The ongoing staffing issues raised concerns about the facility's ability to provide safe and adequate care to its residents.
Plan Of Correction
Plan of Correction: Approved January 3, 2025 Immediate Correction 1) On 12/30/24, The Administrator, DON and HR Director furthered Facility recruitment efforts including: 2) On 12/30/24 contacted CNA School Training program 3) On 12/30/24 contacted 1199 SEIU Hiring division 4) On 12/30/24 contacted additional Staffing agencies like Meridian and Towne. 5) Reviewed the potential to add/hire HHA Hall Monitors to assist in responding to call bells and non-clinical needs informing Charge Nurse of resident needs as indicated. 6) The facility continues to post and promote ads for recruitment for all open positions in the facility with the Apploi platform on job sites like Indeed and Zip Recruiter. 7) On 12/31/24 The Administrator, DON and Staffing Coordinator met with the Resident Council to discuss Facility plan for improving staffing numbers and ensuring care needs are met. Residents expressed satisfaction. 8) Incentives to recruit staff, including the use of sign-on bonuses, job fairs, tuition coverage, shift pickup bonuses and staffing agencies, will continuously be used to increase the facility’s staffing levels. Identification of Others 1) Resident Safety Assessment: The Administrator will conduct a comprehensive review of all residents by 12/31/2024 to identify any who may have been negatively impacted by staffing shortages. This will include checking for delays in care, unmet needs, or changes in physical, mental, or psychosocial well-being. Any identified issues will be addressed by the interdisciplinary team. Systemic Changes 1) The interdisciplinary team revised the staffing policy and Facility Assessment to accurately reflect current staffing needs based on resident acuity, census, and care plans. 2) The DNS and Administrator will review and revise the Facility Assessment to document sufficient staffing needs for each unit based on: - Acuity level and Census including special care needs of residents on individual units, and any other pertinent information about the resident needs. - An evaluation of diseases, conditions, physical, functional, or cognitive limitations of the resident population - Specific skills and competencies staff must possess in order to deliver the necessary care required by the residents being served. - The number of Nursing staff to provide services to residents and assist and monitor aides. 3) Implementing a weekend staffing strategy that includes a dedicated pool of on-call staff, incentives for weekend shifts, and pre-scheduled backup coverage. 4) Reviewing and revising licensed nurses and CNA Assignments for each Unit to ensure any staffing adjustments needed based on resident needs and acuity. 5) Developing an audit tool to identify the number of open positions based on par levels to ensure that safe sufficient staffing would be maintained. 6) The DNS will provide RN's, LPN's and CNA's with education on measures to be taken when staffing is below par levels. Highlights of the Inservice include: - The responsibility of the RNS to check staff at the beginning of each shift. - The need to have a contact list of available staff and agencies to be called in as needed. - The responsibility of the Charge Nurse on each unit to complete an assignment sheet and update as needed for any staffing changes. - The responsibility of all Nursing Staff to report to Charge Nurse/RNS when any care or services cannot be provided to residents during the shift. - The responsibility of the RNS is to ensure resident medications, treatments and care are provided in accordance with resident plan of care. - The need for ancillary staff to assist with responding to call bells and informing direct caregivers of resident needs/requests. - The responsibility of the DON/Designee to contact the NYSDOH Surge and Flex if the facility implements crisis staffing plan. Quality Assurance 1) The QAPI committee will conduct weekly audits of staffing patterns and compliance with the updated Facility Assessment. 2) Initiate resident and family satisfaction survey audit tools to identify concerns related to staffing or care delivery. 3) Review all incidents and complaints quarterly to identify any trends or correlations with staffing levels. 4) Include staffing as a standing agenda item during quarterly QAPI meetings to ensure continuous monitoring and improvement. 5) Audits will be completed by the Director of Human Resources weekly x 4 weeks; monthly x 3 months; and quarterly for x 1 year. Any negative findings will be addressed immediately. 6) Findings will be brought to the QAPI quarterly meeting for tracking of facility compliance. Person Responsible for this Ftag: 1) The Administrator.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Insufficient nursing staff were present on a unit when a resident who required 2-person assist for ambulation and toileting was found walking from the bathroom to bed alone after waiting for help. At the time, only an LPN and a clerk were observed on the unit, while other NA staff had already punched out and the second nurse was charting on another unit.
Insufficient CNA Staffing and Delayed Resident Care: Residents and staff reported that CNA coverage was inadequate on evenings, nights, and weekends, leading to delayed call light response and unmet care needs. A resident with impaired mobility and another with CVA-related deficits reported long waits for assistance, while a CNA stated she was the only CNA on a hall overnight and had not been able to check many rooms. The Administrator and CNA Supervisor acknowledged staffing shortages, especially on nights and weekends, and resident council and grievance records also documented concerns about short staffing.
Insufficient nursing staffing led to delayed and incomplete resident care. The facility scheduled fewer CNAs than required by its assessment, often leaving only 5 to 6 CNAs on day shift instead of 8, and staff were told to cancel shifts when census dropped. Residents reported long waits for toileting and assistance, including being left in feces and waiting during meals for help, while CNAs described working alone, delayed call light response, missed or delayed ADL care, and difficulty completing 2-person transfers and mechanical lifts.
Delayed response to activated call lights was identified for a resident with intact cognition who required assistance with toileting, transfers, and ambulation and had care plan interventions for impaired mobility, safety, weakness from TIA, and fall risk. The resident reported staff often shut off the call light without providing help, and alarm records showed multiple response times over 15 minutes, including several lasting more than 30 minutes and up to nearly an hour. Staff and the DON acknowledged that response times had exceeded the expected timeframe, and the facility policy required staff to respond to engaged call lights in a timely manner.
A resident with a PEG tube, dysphagia, dementia, epilepsy, and other neurologic conditions had scheduled meds ordered through the tube, but the eMAR showed no meds documented for an entire evening med pass. The RN/UM said she worked a double shift because of a nursing call-out and forgot to document the meds as given, and the DON acknowledged the missed documentation.
Insufficient nursing staffing and delayed call light response were identified after residents reported waits of 30 minutes to 2 hours for assistance, including one resident left in the bathroom for 45 minutes and another with a 55-minute wait after activating a call light. The CNA scheduler said staffing was based on a corporate PPD target of 2.85 hours per resident rather than acuity, and records showed multiple weekend shifts with CNA, UM, and RN call-offs or no-shows. Residents also reported staff sitting in the lounge, not responding to lights, and unmet toileting and care needs.
Insufficient nursing staff on unit
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient nursing staff to meet the needs of every resident and to have a licensed nurse in charge on each shift. During an observation on 7/7/26 from 6:54 a.m. through 7:02 a.m., only LPN Employee E10 and the 2A clerk were observed on the nursing unit, while the resident room bathroom call light for Resident R239 was illuminated. At 7:03 a.m., Resident R239 was observed ambulating from the bathroom to bed by herself and stated she got tired of waiting for help. LPN Employee E10 then went to assist her because there were no other staff on the unit. Resident R239's plan of care identified that she required assistance of two staff for ambulation and toileting. Review of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. staff punch-out times showed one NA punched out at 6:48 a.m., one NA punched out at 6:58 a.m., and two others punched out with the supervisor at 7:00 a.m.; the first NA for the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift was observed on the unit at 7:02 a.m. During interview, the Nursing Supervisor stated the second nurse for the 2A unit was on 2B charting and no other staff were on the unit. The Nursing Home Administrator later confirmed that the facility failed to have sufficient nursing staff to provide nursing and related services to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being for Resident R239.
Insufficient CNA Staffing and Delayed Resident Care
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient nursing staff to meet residents’ needs in a timely manner and failed to have enough CNA coverage on evenings, nights, and weekends. The report states the facility had 108 residents and could not provide a staffing policy. Interviews with the Administrator and CNA Supervisor confirmed that nights and weekends were the hardest shifts to fill, that staff shortages were common, and that administrative staff were being used to help cover evening hours when CNA shifts were not fully staffed due to call-ins or no-shows. The CNA Supervisor also stated that optimal staffing on the 200 hall would be two CNAs on all shifts because many residents required two-person assistance with mechanical lifts. Several residents described delayed responses to call lights and assistance needs. One resident with diagnoses including acute respiratory failure, diabetes mellitus, anemia, anxiety disorder, and cognitive communication deficit stated the call light system was not working and that she had been given a whistle to use instead; she reported prolonged waits for staff response, especially after dinner and overnight, and said she had had incontinence episodes while waiting. Another resident with cerebral infarction, hemiplegia, major depressive disorder, and cognitive communication deficit stated she waited longer in the evening and overnight when using the call light, and that weekends seemed to have less staff available. A family member present during that interview stated staff worked hard but did not have enough help, especially on second shift and weekends. A third resident with anemia, muscle weakness, and need for assistance with personal care stated her call light system did not work and she had been given a dinner bell to use when needing assistance. She reported waiting 30 minutes or more for help with her incontinence brief during evening and overnight hours. A CNA working the night shift stated she was the only CNA assigned to the 200 hall at that time, that only 5 CNAs total were working nights including the supervisor, and that she had only checked 4 rooms since arriving before 2:00 AM, with 8 rooms or 11 residents still not checked on her hall. Resident council minutes also documented concerns that there were not enough CNAs on weekends, and a grievance form documented a resident complaint about not receiving a shower due to short staffing.
Insufficient Nursing Staffing and Delayed Resident Care
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient nursing staff in accordance with its facility assessment and residents’ care needs. The assessment called for 1 RN, 2 LPNs, and 8 CNAs on day shift; 3 LPNs and 8 CNAs on evening shift; and 3 CNAs plus 2 additional staff on night shift. However, the nursing schedule from June 2026 through July 3, 2026, showed no days with 8 CNAs assigned to the day or evening shift, with day shift typically staffed by only 5 to 6 CNAs. On one day, a note next to two staff names stated, “If all show, go home,” leaving only 5 CNAs on the floor. On another day, one CNA called off and was not replaced, leaving 3 CNAs for the 100-400 units and 1 CNA for the villa. Residents and staff described delays in care and difficulty meeting basic needs because of the staffing levels. One resident, who had multiple diagnoses including multiple sclerosis, trigeminal neuralgia, convulsions, malnutrition, COPD, hypotension, and epilepsy, was dependent on staff for ADLs and reported being left in feces for 45 minutes because no one was available to assist. The resident also reported that during meal times, call lights were not answered until meals were finished because aides were feeding residents and no one else was available. Another resident, who was dependent on staff for ADLs and had diagnoses including hemiplegia, chronic pain, depression, and falls, stated that the facility was short-staffed and that CNAs were stressed and unable to perform their jobs as they should. Multiple CNAs and the DON confirmed the staffing shortages and the effect on resident care. CNAs reported working alone in the villa, being told no additional CNA would be assigned until census exceeded 18, waiting for help with two-person transfers and mechanical lifts, delayed call light response times of up to 25 minutes, and residents being left soaked in urine overnight because there was not enough staff. The DON stated he wanted additional nurses and CNAs but was told to cancel staff when census dropped. The facility’s fall list also showed an increase in unwitnessed falls from 3 in May 2026 to 15 in June 2026.
Delayed Response to Resident Call Lights
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to consistently respond to activated call lights within a timely manner for one resident. Resident #47 had a BIMS score of 15 out of 15 and required partial/moderate assistance with toileting hygiene and toilet transfers. The resident’s care plan identified impaired mobility, safety concerns, functional performance deficits related to weakness from a transient ischemic attack, and risk for falls, with interventions directing staff to keep the call light within reach, encourage use of it for assistance, and provide prompt response to requests for help. During observation, Resident #47 stated the call light had been activated for several minutes and was shut off by staff without assistance being provided, and the resident reported this happened often. Staff F acknowledged shutting off the call light when unable to assist the resident to the bathroom. Review of the facility’s excess response alarms showed multiple call light response times for Resident #47 ranging from 16.7 minutes to 57.3 minutes. Staff interviews confirmed that an appropriate response time was under 15 minutes, and the DON acknowledged that call lights had exceeded 15 minutes at times. The facility policy stated all staff were to respond to an engaged call light to rule out an emergency situation and that resident needs such as transfers, toileting, and dressing were to be addressed in a timely manner.
Missing Medication Documentation After Short-Staffed Shift
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient nursing staff to ensure that medications and treatments were properly documented for one resident. Resident #47 had diagnoses including late effects of cerebral infarction, aphasia following cerebral infarction, dysphagia, dementia, epilepsy, hypertension, and gastrostomy status. The resident’s MDS indicated the resident was rarely or never understood and had a tube feeding. Physician orders included multiple scheduled medications administered via PEG tube and enteral feeding orders. Review of the eMAR for the evening shift showed no medications documented as administered for the entire medication pass. The medical record did not contain a nursing progress note explaining that the resident was out of the facility, refused medications, or otherwise accounting for the missing documentation. The RN/UM stated she worked a double shift because of a nursing call-out and, while working as the med nurse, forgot to document that the medications had been administered during the evening shift. The DON acknowledged that the RN/UM had worked two consecutive shifts due to a call-out and forgot to document administering the resident’s medications during the evening med pass.
Insufficient Nursing Staffing and Delayed Call Light Response
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide enough nursing staff every day to meet resident needs and failed to ensure a licensed nurse was in charge on each shift. During a confidential resident group meeting, residents reported that call light response times were commonly about 30 minutes, could be as long as two hours, and that one resident had been left in the bathroom for 45 minutes before yelling for help. Residents also stated that the facility needed more staff and that staff called in too often. During interviews and record review, the surveyor learned that the facility used a corporate per-patient-day guideline of 2.85 hours per resident and did not use resident acuity in scheduling. The CNA/staff scheduler stated that management did not want staffing to go over or under that target and that she scheduled as close to it as possible. She also stated that weekend staffing was stacked to anticipate call-offs, and that residents had reported only one CNA on night shift, although she said clock-in records did not show that. She further stated that 3rd shift staff were in the lounge watching TV and not responding to call lights, and that the cameras did not work. Payroll and staffing records showed multiple weekend shifts with call-offs and short staffing across CNA, unit manager, and licensed nurse shifts, including several dates with multiple call-ins or no-shows on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shifts. Residents reported long waits for call lights, unmet toileting needs, and staff not responding or returning after entering rooms. One resident’s concern form documented a 55-minute wait after a call light was activated, and another resident stated that staff did not respond for 30 minutes to 3 hours. The DON, regional clinical consultant, and NHA all acknowledged that PBJ staffing was submitted at the corporate level, and the NHA was aware of excessively low weekend staffing that had triggered in March 2026.
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