Failure to Provide and Document Scheduled Bathing for Dependent Residents
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that three residents dependent on staff for bathing received scheduled showers or baths, as required by their care plans and facility policy. For each of the three residents reviewed, there was a lack of documentation showing that showers or baths were provided on the scheduled days across multiple weeks in February, March, and April. The facility's policy required staff to provide bathing services and document any refusals or missed baths, but records were incomplete or missing. Interviews with residents and family members confirmed that showers were not consistently provided as scheduled, and staff were unable to produce documentation to verify that bathing occurred as required. The residents involved had significant care needs, including hemiplegia, hemiparesis, intellectual disabilities, reduced mobility, heart failure, and muscle weakness. Assessments indicated that these residents required partial to maximum assistance with bathing and were cognitively intact or moderately impaired. Despite these needs, the facility did not maintain adequate records or ensure that scheduled bathing was completed, as confirmed by the DON, staffing coordinator, and administrator, who acknowledged the lack of documentation and inability to verify that care was provided as scheduled.