Failure to Provide Dignity Bag for Catheter Collection Bag
Penalty
Summary
Staff failed to respect a resident's right to dignity by not providing a dignity bag to cover the resident's indwelling catheter collection bag. The resident, who had multiple complex medical conditions including multiple sclerosis, seizures, respiratory failure, pneumonia, pressure ulcers, and required a gastrostomy tube and supplemental oxygen, was completely dependent on staff for all activities of daily living. The resident's care plan directed staff to keep the catheter bag below the level of the bladder and to provide routine catheter care, but did not include instructions to use a dignity bag to cover the catheter collection bag. On multiple occasions, surveyors observed the resident lying in bed with the catheter collection bag visible from the hallway and not covered by a dignity bag. Interviews with nursing staff and administration confirmed that the expectation was for catheter bags to be covered with a dignity bag or placed on the side of the bed away from the doorway, both when the resident was in and out of the room. The facility's policy emphasized the right of residents to a dignified existence and to be treated with respect, but this was not followed in the observed instances.