Failure to Notify Responsible Party and Practitioners of Resident's Significant Change in Condition
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to immediately notify a resident's responsible party and practitioners when there was a significant change in the resident's physical status, specifically a deterioration in health. The resident, a male with a history of cerebral infarction, hypertension, neoplasm-related pain, heart disease, ataxia, and myocardial infarction, was admitted to the facility and subsequently refused to eat or drink from dinner on his admission day through breakfast two days later. Despite this refusal, there were no entries in the resident's progress notes regarding the lack of nutrition or hydration, nor any documentation that practitioners or the responsible party were notified of the situation. Staff interviews revealed that the CNA informed the charge nurse about the resident's refusal to eat or drink, and both attempted to encourage intake without success. However, the charge nurse did not document these refusals in the electronic medical record, citing being busy, and did not notify the responsible party or practitioners. The nurse also mistakenly believed the resident was his own responsible party. Practitioners who saw the resident during this period were not informed of the missed meals, and documentation in the point-of-care system only allowed for a 0-25% intake range, not a true 0% intake, further obscuring the severity of the issue. The responsible party was only notified when the resident was being sent to the emergency room after being found lethargic with low vital signs. Upon hospital evaluation, the resident was diagnosed with acute encephalopathy, acute renal failure, and profound dehydration. Interviews with facility leadership confirmed that there was an expectation for staff to notify management, the responsible party, and practitioners when a resident refused meals or hydration, but this did not occur in this case. The facility's own policies required prompt notification in such circumstances, but these were not followed, resulting in a significant lapse in care and communication.
Removal Plan
- Resident #1 no longer resides in the facility.
- DON/Designee initiated a full audit of all residents to identify any with poor intake or refusal trends. Residents identified with low or declining intake (<25%) were immediately evaluated by nursing. NP/MD and RP notifications initiated. Care plans updated accordingly by DON/Designee.
- DON was in-serviced by Regional Nursing to notify MD/NP and RP for 2 consecutive days of missed meals or poor intake (<25%), accurate documentation in nurses note and communication expectations with return demonstration.
- DON/Designee will in-service licensed nursing staff/licensed agency re-educated and directed to notify Practitioner and RP for 2 consecutive days of missed meals or poor intake (<25%), accurate documentation in nurses note and communication expectations. This will be added to licensed nurses' general orientation for new hires.
- Mandatory in-services will be completed with all current and oncoming nursing staff prior to start of shift worked.
- DON/Designee will complete competency validation conducted for licensed nurses/licensed agency on meal percentages documentation and training above per visual aides and return demonstration. This will be added to licensed nurses' general orientation for new hires.
- Administrator was in-serviced on department head meal manager schedule and details by Texas Area President.
- Department Heads will be in-serviced by administrator on meal manager requirements.
- DON/designee will monitor for residents with poor intake on PCC dashboard in the morning meeting or remotely daily to ensure that interventions are initiated, and Practitioner and RP are notified immediately but not later than 24 hours from identification of nutritional change. This will be documented on a monitoring tool.
- Any issues will be reported to the QAPI Committee meeting monthly.
- Administrator will lead Ad hoc QAPI to review the deficiency and the process for POR.