Failure to Provide Accurate and Accessible Wall Clocks for Residents
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide a homelike environment for two residents by not ensuring the presence and accuracy of wall clocks in their rooms. For one resident with dementia, depression, and muscle wasting, the wall clock in the room displayed an incorrect time, as observed by both the resident and the Infection Preventionist Nurse (IPN). The IPN confirmed that the clock was not showing the correct time during the observation. For another resident with dementia, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis, there was no wall clock present in the room. The IPN acknowledged that all rooms should have a wall clock to help residents with time orientation. During interviews, the resident without a clock expressed frustration at having to repeatedly ask staff for the time, indicating that the absence of a clock affected her comfort. The DON also stated that having an accurate wall clock in every resident's room is important for orientation and maintaining a comfortable, homelike environment. The facility's policy on quality of life and homelike environment requires staff to provide a setting that emphasizes residents' comfort, independence, and personal needs, which was not met in these instances.