Failure to Maintain Clean and Sanitary Resident Room
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that a resident's room was not maintained in a clean and sanitary condition over several days. The room had an overflowing trash can, trash and masks on the floor, a visibly dirty bedside table with a large area of dried, sticky residue, and a pile of clothing on the bathroom floor. These conditions persisted despite multiple observations on different days, with the same trash, masks, and residue remaining in place. The resident reported that housekeeping only occasionally emptied the trash and swept the floor, and could not recall when the bedside table was last cleaned. Interviews with housekeeping staff confirmed that daily cleaning was required, including vacuuming, mopping, sweeping visible debris, cleaning surfaces, and emptying trash, but these tasks were not consistently performed in this resident's room. The resident involved had significant medical conditions, including Guillain-Barre syndrome, difficulty walking, abnormal gait, COPD, and osteoarthritis, and was assessed as severely cognitively impaired, requiring varying levels of assistance with daily activities. The care plan did not indicate any refusal of housekeeping services. Facility policies required daily cleaning of resident rooms, including work surfaces, furniture, and floors, but these standards were not met in this case, resulting in a failure to provide a safe, clean, and homelike environment for the resident.