Delayed Call Light Response Due to Insufficient Staffing
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient nursing staff to meet the needs of residents, resulting in delayed responses to call lights for multiple residents. Review of facility grievances, call light logs, and resident interviews revealed that several residents experienced significant delays, with some waiting up to an hour or more for assistance. Call light logs over a three-month period documented 1,770 instances where response times exceeded 30 minutes and 167 instances where the wait was longer than an hour. Residents reported waiting extended periods for help with essential needs, such as toileting, and described situations where staff turned off call lights without providing immediate assistance. Specific grievances included reports from residents who had to wait up to an hour or more for their call lights to be answered, particularly during shifts with limited staff coverage. Residents described waiting so long for assistance that it affected their comfort and ability to move, with one resident stating her legs went numb while waiting for help off the commode. Interviews with staff confirmed that call lights should be answered within 10 to 15 minutes, but this standard was not consistently met, as evidenced by the documented delays and resident accounts.