Failure to Maintain Safe Temperature Levels
Summary
Wyndmoor Hills Rehabilitation and Nursing was found to be non-compliant with federal and state regulations regarding maintaining a safe and comfortable environment for residents. The facility failed to ensure that air temperatures were maintained within the required range of 71 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit on two nursing units, specifically the Second and Third Floors. Observations revealed that temperatures in various rooms and hallways ranged from 59 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, which posed a risk of hypothermia to 16 residents. Interviews with residents and staff confirmed the discomfort and cold conditions within the facility. Residents were observed wearing additional clothing such as sweatshirts, coats, and hats to keep warm. Staff members, including nurse aides and the maintenance director, acknowledged the cold temperatures and reported issues with the heating system. The maintenance director noted that the facility had experienced problems with water pipes, which affected the heating system's functionality. Further investigation revealed that a commercial contractor had identified an issue with the air handler, which required shutting off the system to prevent further damage. Despite being aware of the malfunction, the facility instructed the contractor to turn the air handler back on. The lack of adequate warm blankets and the failure to maintain appropriate air temperatures led to an Immediate Jeopardy situation, as residents were at risk of developing hypothermia due to the cold environment.
Plan Of Correction
1. Residents that resided in affected rooms were immediately offered a room move. Superb Plumbing was on site on 2/7/2025 to address concerns related to the heating unit. Additional blankets were purchased and provided to residents. Warming liquid hydration stations were placed in resident common areas by culinary staff on 2/7/2025. All 16 residents identified were assessed by nursing staff to ensure that there have been no undesired outcomes related to hypothermia and that no signs and symptoms of hypothermia were present due to the central heating system being temporarily inoperable, including vital signs, skin assessments, and any other pertinent assessments. 2. All rooms in the facility have been temped and are back in compliance. Residents affected will be continuously assessed every shift to ensure that no signs and symptoms of hypothermia are present. 3. Facility staff will be educated on ensuring residents remain warm and to ensure that residents are assessed frequently to ensure that no signs and symptoms of hypothermia are present. 4. An Ad Hoc QAPI Meeting was held on 2/7/2025 to discuss the events surrounding the facility's failure to ensure that the temperatures in the facility were maintained between 71 and 81 degrees Fahrenheit, to identify the root cause, and to initiate improvements to the facility's processes and procedures regarding ensuring that temperatures are appropriately maintained in the facility. The facility has a plan in place when temperatures are not maintained and to ensure that the central heating system has routine maintenance. The facility will continue to audit all rooms until there are no rooms being affected. The facility will do a temperature audit once a week for one month, twice a month for one month, and once a month for one month. 5. The findings of these quality monitoring efforts will be reported to the Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement Committee monthly for six months.
Removal Plan
- The facility initiated a comprehensive Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement Plan to ensure that facility air temperatures were maintained between 71- and 81-degrees Fahrenheit.
- Residents that resided in affected rooms were offered a room move and declined. They were informed that if they were uncomfortable and would like to move rooms at any time to inform facility staff.
- [Plumbing Company] on site to address concerns related to the heating unit. Additional blankets were purchased and provided to residents.
- Warming liquid hydration stations were placed in resident common areas by culinary staff.
- All 16 residents identified were assessed by nursing staff to ensure that there have been no undesired outcomes related to hypothermia and that no signs and symptoms of hypothermia were present to the central heating system being temporarily inoperable to include vital signs, skin assessment and any other pertinent assessments.
- All other rooms in the facility will have temperatures taken and residents affected will be continuously assessed every shift to ensure that no signs and symptoms of hypothermia are present to include vital signs, skin assessments along with any other relevant assessment related to hypothermia.
- Facility staff will be educated on ensuring residents remain warm and to ensure that residents are assessed frequently to ensure that no signs of symptoms of hypothermia are present.
- Facility temperature will be checked every shift by the manager on duty and facility administration to ensure that they are within appropriate range along with resident interview to ensure that they are comfortable with the current temperatures.
- If the facility rooms affected does not meet and maintain the appropriate temperatures facility will initiate the emergency plan to include closure of the affected rooms and mandate movement of resident to functioning rooms.
- An Ad Hoc QAPI Meeting was held to discuss the events surrounding the facility's failure to ensure temperatures in the facility were maintained between 71- and 81- degrees Fahrenheit, to identify the root cause, and to initiate improvement to the facility's processes and procedures regarding ensuring temperature levels are appropriately maintained in the facility, the facility has a plan in place when temperatures are not maintained and to ensure that the central heating system has routine maintenance.
- The PA Healthcare Coalition was notified via phone with a voice message left.
- An interview was conducted with Heating and Air Contractor, Employee E11, reported that the heating issue had been resolved. Temperatures in the hallways and rooms were increasing.
- Observations revealed the Second-floor nursing unit-maintained temperatures between 71- and 81- degrees Fahrenheit. The third nursing unit continued to have rooms with 7 rooms were below 71 degrees Fahrenheit. Facility brought portable space heater (safe) to maintain air temperature levels between 71- and 81-degrees Fahrenheit.
- The facility provided education to all staff on assessing residents for signs and symptoms of hypothermia. Staff were instructed to ensure residents remained warm by providing blankets, conducting vital sign checks every shift, and offering warm beverages as needed.
- The vital signs auditing was reviewed and residents were not exhibiting signs and symptoms of hypothermia.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
A resident with moderate cognitive impairment and extensive ADL needs was found with urine-soiled bedding, an unmade bed, and a mattress that was torn and heavily stained, with staff stating the damage had been present for a while. On the secured unit, all observed residents were served meals on plastic trays holding their plates, utensils, and drinks instead of having items placed directly on the table, and staff and the DON confirmed this was the routine practice.
A facility failed to maintain a safe, homelike environment when a resident room had broken and missing floor tile exposing the wood underneath, and two bathrooms had sinks coming away from the wall and loose enough to move when pressure was applied. One resident said the floor had been bad for some time and had been reported without being addressed, and an LPN later confirmed the damaged flooring and loose sinks.
Furniture Not Kept in Good Repair: Armchairs in multiple resident rooms and chairs in the front sitting area were observed with torn or cracked upholstery exposing cloth material. The Maintenance Director stated the furniture was not in good repair and had not been notified of the damage, while the Administrator stated staff were to remove furniture with tears.
A facility failed to maintain a clean, homelike environment when a refrigerator used for resident supplement drinks had significant ice buildup with an unknown item in it, and staff were unsure who was responsible for cleaning or reporting it. In addition, meals were repeatedly served on trays and left in front of residents during dining, which an RN and the VPS confirmed had been occurring for some time and was not homelike.
Failure to Maintain Comfortable Room Temperatures: Several residents were found in hot, stuffy rooms with weak or nonworking AC units, and room temps were measured above 81 F, including one room at 89.5 F. Residents reported feeling hot and uncomfortable, and some were not offered a room change while the issue persisted. The facility did not follow its Hot Weather policy for relocating residents to cooler areas and monitoring room temps.
Excessive ambient temperatures were observed at the 100/200 and 300/400 nurses' stations when the wall thermostat and facility temperature monitoring device both showed readings in the low 80s. The surveyor verified the readings with the Facility Maintenance Director while residents were seated in nearby common areas.
Soiled Mattress and Tray-Based Meal Service
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to replace a torn, stained mattress and did not ensure urine-soiled bedding was changed timely for a resident who had moderate cognitive impairment and required extensive assistance with dressing, grooming, toileting hygiene, transfers, and wheelchair mobility. The resident’s diagnoses included COPD, anxiety, and schizophrenia. The resident was observed stating that his bedsheet was wet with urine and that he was looking for staff to change it. Later, his bed was observed unmade with a rumpled soiled top sheet on the mattress and a strong urine odor in the room. When a nursing assistant later changed the resident’s linens, the mattress was found to have a 6-cm tear, a large 12 x 12-inch deep brown dry stain in the center, and scattered discoloration across the remaining surface. Staff stated the mattress had been stained and ripped for a while, and maintenance said they had only received a work order that day to replace it. The facility also failed to remove residents’ meal plates, beverages, and utensils from institutional serving trays before meal service for all 27 residents on the secured unit. During multiple meal observations, residents were served and ate from plastic trays that held their plates of food, silverware, and drinks. Staff continued this practice at breakfast, lunch, and dinner observations, and one nursing assistant stated that although it looked more homelike when plates and utensils were placed directly on the table, that was not how it was done at the facility. An RN stated the facility served meals on trays and was not sure why, and the DON stated the facility had previously used a steam cart to dish up food correctly but had switched to serving meals on trays after the cart broke.
Unsafe Room Flooring and Loose Bathroom Sinks
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain a clean, safe, and homelike environment in one resident room and two resident bathrooms. Facility policy dated 3/23/26 stated the objective was to keep the resident environment as free of accidents and safety hazards as possible and that monthly safety walkthroughs would be completed for each resident unit. During observation of one room on 7/6/26 at 12:05 p.m., four joined flooring tiles were missing pieces measuring approximately 6 inches by 12 inches, exposing the wood underneath, and numerous other tiles throughout the room were cracked with pieces missing from the corners. Resident R16 stated the floor had been bad for some time and that although it had been reported, no one had addressed it. R16 also reported concern about the bathroom sink being loose and feared it could fall off the wall if someone leaned on it. Observation of that room's bathroom showed the sink was coming away from the wall, loose, and able to move up and down when pressure was applied. A second room's bathroom was also observed on 7/6/26 at 12:22 p.m. with the same condition: the sink was coming away from the wall, loose, and able to move up and down when pressure was applied. Resident R44 said he/she was unsure how long the sink had been that way. On 7/8/26 at 11:34 a.m., an LPN confirmed the broken and missing tile in the room and confirmed that the sinks in both bathrooms were coming away from the wall, loose, and movable when pressure was applied.
Furniture Not Kept in Good Repair
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure furniture was in good repair for 1 of 1 facility reviewed for physical environment. During an observation with the Maintenance Director, armchairs in rooms 10, 16, 18, 42, and 44 were observed with torn fabric on the armrests and exposed cloth material, with the torn areas measuring at least one inch in diameter. In the general sitting area by the front entrance, two chairs had multiple cracks in the synthetic leather on the seat covering exposing cloth material, and one armchair had missing synthetic leather exposing cloth material. The Maintenance Director stated the furniture was not in good repair, Staff 18 stated staff were to notify maintenance when furniture was ripped, and the Maintenance Director stated he had not been notified of the torn furniture. The Administrator stated that if there were tears in the furniture, staff were to remove the furniture.
Unclean refrigerator and tray service during dining
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain a clean, homelike environment when a refrigerator used to store resident supplement drinks was observed with a large amount of ice buildup on the top freezer section and an unknown item embedded in the ice. During the kitchen tour, the cook verified the condition of the refrigerator and stated they were unsure who was responsible for cleaning, monitoring, or reporting it. Maintenance later explained that staff are supposed to place a ticket in TELS when something needs attention, and the administrator later verified the ice buildup in the dining room refrigerator. The facility also failed to eliminate the use of meal trays during dining service. During multiple observations, noon and supper meals were served to residents on trays and left in front of them in the dining room. An RN verified that the noon meal was served and left on trays and stated this had been occurring for at least two years. The VPS also verified that meals were served on trays and left in front of residents and confirmed that this was not homelike. The facility policy stated that the environment should be homelike and that meal trays should be eliminated during dining service unless otherwise requested by the resident.
Failure to Maintain Comfortable Room Temperatures
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure resident rooms remained at comfortable temperatures and failed to offer room changes to residents whose rooms exceeded 81 F when air cooling units were not working properly. On 7/1/2026 at about 10:30 AM, R6 was in a hot, uncomfortable room and stated the floor air conditioning wall unit was not working because no air came from the vent. R8’s unit was on but only weak air came through, and R8 appeared uncomfortable and said he was hot. R9 and R10 were in a dark, warm, and stuffy room with the windows closed and curtains pulled shut, and R7 was in a very hot room with weak air blowing from the floor unit and said the room was hot. When the surveyor returned with the Maintenance Director at 10:42 AM, the room temperatures were measured at 84.5 F for R6, 89.5 F for R7, 85.2 F for R8, and 82.9 F for R9 and R10. At 4:00 PM, R7 and R8’s rooms were still hot, with temperatures of 85.6 F and 83.1 F, respectively, and both residents remained in their rooms. R6 stated a room change had been offered only a few minutes earlier, while R7 and R8 stated they had not been offered a room change during the hot room temperatures. The facility did not follow its Hot Weather policy, which stated residents would be relocated to the cooler part of the facility and temperatures and humidity would be measured in several rooms on each floor identified as the warmest area.
Excessive Ambient Temperatures at Nurses' Stations
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to consistently maintain ambient temperatures within the required range in the 100/200 Nurses' Station and the 300/400 Nurses' Station. During direct observation, the wall-mounted thermostat at the 100/200 Nurses' Station displayed 83 F. The surveyor then requested that the Facility Maintenance Director obtain ambient temperature readings using the facility's temperature monitoring device, and the readings were verified by the surveyor as they were obtained. At that time, the Facility Maintenance Director measured 82.2 F at the 100/200 Nurses' Station and 83.0 F at the 300/400 Nurses' Station. The surveyor also observed residents seated in common areas close to both nurses' stations while the temperatures were above the recommended comfort range. The facility census was 118.
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