Resident Privacy and Dignity Compromised During Restroom Incident
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when a resident's privacy was not maintained, resulting in a violation of dignity. Specifically, a cognitively intact female resident with a history of major depressive disorder and schizophrenia was using the restroom when another resident, a male with severe cognitive impairment and poor impulse control, entered the restroom while she was urinating with her pants down. The female resident reported feeling embarrassed, bad, and nasty as a result of this incident. The male resident who entered the restroom had a care plan in place to closely monitor and minimize triggers for aggression, and his psychiatric notes indicated resistance to redirection and episodes of poor impulse control. The facility's policy states that residents are to be treated with respect and dignity, and to be free from abuse. The Director of Nursing acknowledged that such an incident could compromise a resident's sense of safety and dignity, especially when a male enters a female restroom.