F0868 F868: Have the Quality Assessment and Assurance group have the required members and meet at least quarterly
D

Failure to Conduct Monthly QAPI Meetings and Maintain Required Committee Members

Faith Lutheran HomeWolf Point, Montana Survey Completed on 03-13-2025

Summary

The facility failed to adhere to its plan of correction following a survey conducted on December 3, 2024. Specifically, the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) committee did not meet monthly as required, with no meeting held in February 2025. This lapse was confirmed during an interview with a staff member who stated that the February meeting was not rescheduled, and the next meeting was planned for the third week of March 2025. A review of the QAPI Committee Minutes from December 2024 and January 2025 showed no documentation of a meeting in February 2025. Additionally, the facility did not have a licensed Nursing Home Administrator employed as of late December 2024, which resulted in the QAPI committee lacking the necessary staff participation as mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The facility's plan of correction, dated January 6, 2025, required audits to be presented to the QAPI team monthly to maintain compliance. However, the absence of an administrator meant the committee did not include the required positions, such as the director of nursing services, the medical director or designee, at least three other staff members including an administrator or individual in a leadership role, and the infection preventionist, as outlined in the State Operations Manual, Appendix PP, for F868.

Penalty

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.

Resources

Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:

See other F0868 citations
QAA Committee Attendance and Documentation Deficiencies
E
F0868 F868: Have the Quality Assessment and Assurance group have the required members and meet at least quarterly
Short Summary

QAA Committee Attendance and Documentation Deficiencies: The facility failed to maintain and account for scheduled QAA meetings. Record review and interviews showed missing attendance forms for several months, the ADON identified as the QAA lead was absent from multiple meetings, and the QAA/QAPI binder contained some data without a documented plan or leadership, with no data for the final months reviewed.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
QAPI Committee Lacked Required Attendance and Infection Control Reporting
F
F0868 F868: Have the Quality Assessment and Assurance group have the required members and meet at least quarterly
Short Summary

QAPI committee meetings did not consistently include the required members or designees, and infection control information was not reliably presented. Meeting minutes showed the Administrator and Medical Director were absent from some meetings without designees, and the DON/IP did not provide documented infection control tracking even though a COVID outbreak had occurred. Interviews confirmed that when the minutes stated no new concerns, infection control tracking and the outbreak were not discussed.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
QAPI Committee Lacked Required MD Participation
E
F0868 F868: Have the Quality Assessment and Assurance group have the required members and meet at least quarterly
Short Summary

QAPI Committee Lacked Required MD Participation: The facility failed to maintain a QAPI committee with the required members because the MD, or a representative, did not attend multiple QAPI meetings reviewed. Record review showed no evidence of MD attendance at the meetings, and the ADM stated she expected the MD to attend and did not know why he had not been present. The facility policy required an ongoing, facility-wide, data-driven QAPI program focused on resident outcomes and quality of life.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
QAA Committee Lacked Required Medical Director Participation
D
F0868 F868: Have the Quality Assessment and Assurance group have the required members and meet at least quarterly
Short Summary

The facility failed to ensure the Medical Director or designee attended a QAA Committee meeting. The attendance sheet showed the Medical Director was absent, and the ADMIN stated no additional documentation explained the absence. The facility's QAPI policy required the committee to include the Medical Director or designee.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Medical Director Did Not Attend Required QAPI Meetings
D
F0868 F868: Have the Quality Assessment and Assurance group have the required members and meet at least quarterly
Short Summary

The facility's Medical Director failed to attend two of five reviewed quarterly QAPI meetings. Surveyors found no MD signature on the QAPI sign-in sheets for two quarterly meetings, and the LNHA acknowledged there was no evidence the MD attended either meeting. The facility's QAPI policy listed department heads as committee members but did not list the MD as a QAPI member.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Hold Required QAA Meetings
C
F0868 F868: Have the Quality Assessment and Assurance group have the required members and meet at least quarterly
Short Summary

Failure to Hold Required QAA Meetings: The facility failed to conduct QAA meetings at least quarterly with all required committee members for three of four quarterly meetings. The NHA was unable to locate QAPI sign-in sheets for the review period, and later confirmed the facility did not meet the required QAA meeting schedule.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Citation search

Search every citation & Plan of Correction

Go to search
Citation watch

Track new serious citations across Montana

Get a heads-up on the newest immediate-jeopardy (J–L) citations in Montana — where surveyors are focused right now.

Free · about one email a month

Trusted data from CMS and state health departments

Every citation, penalty and Plan of Correction is sourced from public CMS records (latest release October 8, 2026) and official state health department websites — never guesswork.

In your survey window? See what surveyors are citing.

The Survey-Prep Report maps your facility's risk from 12 months of CMS and state citation data — what's being cited around you and what to check first. $129 one-time.

Get the Survey-Prep Report
An unhandled error has occurred. Reload 🗙

Connection lost — reconnecting… We couldn't reconnect automatically. Please reload the page to continue.