Failure to Maintain Dignity During Meal Assistance
Penalty
Summary
Staff failed to promote dignity while assisting a resident with meals by not feeding the resident at eye level to maintain face-to-face contact. The resident, who had diagnoses including Parkinson's disease, dementia, and diabetes mellitus, was admitted with severely impaired cognition and required total assistance with eating. During an observation, a CNA was seen standing over the resident while providing feeding assistance, rather than sitting at eye level as required by facility policy and best practices for maintaining resident dignity. Interviews with the CNA and the DON confirmed that staff are expected to feed residents at eye level to allow for proper monitoring and to uphold the resident's dignity. The facility's policy on meal assistance specifically states that residents should not be fed while staff are standing over them, emphasizing the importance of safety, comfort, and dignity during mealtimes. The failure to follow this policy was directly observed and acknowledged by staff.