Failure to Honor Resident's Right to Communication and Self-Determination
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to honor a resident's right to self-determination and communication. A resident with cerebral palsy, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mild intellectual disabilities, fibromyalgia, and mobility impairments was dependent on staff for all activities of daily living and was cognitively moderately impaired. The resident was unable to reposition herself or independently contact her family and relied on staff for assistance. The Administrator and Social Services spoke with the resident about her frequent phone calls to her family member, instructing her that she could not be on the phone during care and that all electronic devices would be shut off while care was provided. The stated reason was to protect the resident's privacy and dignity, and staff would assist the resident in resuming the call after care was completed. Despite the resident and her family member expressing a desire to remain connected by phone, even during care, the facility enforced the policy of disconnecting calls during care. The resident's family member indicated that being on the phone was necessary to help the resident communicate, as she was sometimes difficult to understand. Staff interviews confirmed that the family member was frequently on speaker phone during care, and some staff were not bothered by this, suggesting alternatives such as muting the call or lowering the volume. The facility did not have a policy addressing resident phone usage during care, and the local Ombudsman had suggested hanging up the phone during care for privacy reasons.