Facility's Nonpayment Leads to Service Disruptions
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to pay bills in a timely manner for essential services, impacting residents' health, psychosocial well-being, and safety. Interviews with staff and vendors revealed that the facility's nonpayment led to the suspension of services such as cable television, milk delivery, garbage collection, and medical transportation. The Nursing Home Administrator (NHA) was responsible for financial transactions, and the failure to pay these bills resulted in significant service disruptions. Residents were directly affected by these service interruptions. A Resident Representative expressed concerns about the lack of cable television, which was dismissed by the facility as non-essential. Additionally, the facility ran out of milk, and the Food Service Director had to arrange an emergency delivery. The Medical Transport Vendor suspended services for over a month due to unpaid bills, causing four residents to miss medical appointments. Vendors reported ongoing issues with the facility's payment practices. The Garbage Collection Vendor required upfront payments due to previous nonpayment issues, and the Dairy Product Vendor had to suspend services until payments were made. The Cable Vendor confirmed that services were suspended due to nonpayment but were restored after receiving overdue payments. The NHA acknowledged the facility's failure to pay bills timely, affecting essential services for residents.
Plan Of Correction
1. Outstanding invoices from vendors documented by surveyor were paid to terms or developed a payment plan. There were and are no current service interruptions from contracted vendors and no change in vendor services. 2. An initial audit conducted by the administrator confirmed vendors identified; third-party medical transportation and cable were brought to terms or a payment plan was developed to ensure services continue. Dairy vendor and refuse vendor continue to be paid timely and are still in use. 3. The accounts payable office representative and management team were re-inserviced by the administrator to ensure essential service vendors who are identifying delays in payment should be communicated directly to the Administrator. 4. The administrator was designated to audit ongoing to ensure vendors are paid to terms or have a payment plan in place to ensure services continue. Audit findings will be shared with QAPI.