Failure to Assess and Appropriately Restrict Resident's Use of Electric Wheelchair
Penalty
Summary
A resident with a history of bilateral below-knee amputations, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoarthritis, pain, and peripheral vascular disease was admitted to the facility with an electric wheelchair. Upon admission, there was no assessment completed for the safe use of the electric wheelchair, despite documentation that the resident's mobility was severely limited and required the use of a wheelchair. An incident occurred in which the resident collided with another resident while operating the electric wheelchair, prompting a referral to occupational therapy (OT) for evaluation of safe operation. Subsequent OT evaluation noted the resident had poor depth perception and recommended an optometrist evaluation, which had not yet occurred. The resident was later discharged from OT and deemed incapable of safely operating the power wheelchair. As a result, the facility removed the control panel from the resident's wheelchair, preventing her from independently operating it. There was no physician order, assessment, or care plan in place for this restriction. Both the DON and OT confirmed that restricting the resident's ability to operate her wheelchair limited her mobility.