Facility Fails to Respond Timely to Residents' Requests for Assistance
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide timely responses to residents' requests for assistance, impacting their quality of life and dignity. Resident 5, who is cognitively intact, reported waiting over an hour and a half for staff to respond to her call bell. Similarly, Resident 1, also cognitively intact, experienced wait times of about 20 minutes, with instances extending over 40 minutes. Both residents expressed concerns about the lack of staff to provide timely care. Resident 2, who is cognitively intact and suffers from osteomyelitis, reported waiting up to an hour and thirty minutes for assistance, often resulting in sitting soiled due to incontinence. Resident 4, with COPD, experienced similar delays, waiting an hour for care after being incontinent. These residents highlighted the facility's staffing shortages as a reason for the delays, which they had communicated to the staff without resolution. Resident 3, who has Parkinson's disease and is dependent on staff for care, was observed lying in bed with his pants down, exposed to the hallway, for 20 minutes before receiving assistance. He expressed feelings of frustration and neglect due to the long wait times for care. The Nursing Home Administrator and Director of Nursing acknowledged the importance of treating residents with dignity and respect but could not explain the untimely responses to residents' needs.
Plan Of Correction
1. Facility staff unable to retroactively correct past call bell and dignity issues mentioned for R 1,2,3,4, & 5. 2. DON/designee to perform an audit of cognitively intact residents to determine if they feel as if they are treated with respect and dignity and that their call bells are answered timely. 3. ADON educator/designee to provide education to staff on resident rights and dignity to include not leaving residents exposed in view of others and timely answering of call bells. 4. Department Heads/designee to perform call bell audits for 10 cognitively intact residents 5X per week X 2 weeks then 3X per week X 2 weeks, then weekly X 2 weeks to ensure call bells answered timely. Department Heads/designee to perform observation audits for 10 residents 5X per week X 2 weeks then 3X per week X 2 weeks, then weekly X 2 weeks to ensure dignity and respect is maintained by not leaving them exposed in view of others. 5. Audit findings to be reported and reviewed at facility QAPI monthly X 3 to evaluate process improvement.