Failure to Provide Ongoing Access to Resident Personal Funds
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide residents with ongoing access to their personal funds managed by the facility, as required by policy and regulation. Review of the facility's Resident Trust policy revealed it did not specify how or when residents could access their funds. Facility records showed that 62 residents had active trust accounts. Multiple interviews with residents confirmed that they were unable to withdraw funds on weekends or after business office hours, as the business office staff were only available Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Staff interviews further indicated uncertainty about the process for residents to access funds outside of these hours, with no clear alternative in place. The Business Office Manager (BOM) acknowledged that residents could only access their money during business office hours and that, while there had been discussions about leaving money at the nurse's desk or in the medication cart for after-hours access, this process had not been implemented. The BOM stated that residents were advised to withdraw money on Fridays if they anticipated needing it over the weekend, but there was no established process for those who did not plan ahead. The Administrator was under the impression that money was kept in the nurses' medication carts for distribution after hours, but was unaware that this was not actually occurring. As a result, residents did not have reliable access to their funds outside of regular business hours.