Failure to Maintain Catheter Bag and Tubing Off the Floor
Penalty
Summary
Staff failed to maintain a sanitary environment to prevent the development and transmission of infections when a resident's urinary catheter tubing and drainage bag were allowed to come into contact with the floor. The resident, who had diagnoses of obstructive and reflux uropathy and used a urinary catheter, was observed in a wheelchair when a CNA turned the wheelchair, causing the catheter drainage bag to fall out of its privacy bag and land on the floor. The CNA then placed the drainage bag back into the privacy bag and moved the resident to the dining room, with the catheter tubing still touching the floor. The resident's care plan instructed staff to keep the catheter bag and tubing below the level of the bladder and off the floor, and the facility's policy required that catheter tubing and drainage bags be kept off the floor. The administrative nurse confirmed that staff were expected to change out the catheter drainage bag and tubing if they touched the floor. Despite these instructions and policies, staff did not follow proper infection control procedures during the incident.