Failure to Provide Required Smoking Apron for Visually Impaired Resident
Penalty
Summary
During an unannounced visit, it was observed that a staff member failed to provide a required smoking apron to a resident who was smoking on the facility patio. The Activity Assistant, responsible for supervising the smoking area, admitted to forgetting to give the apron to the resident, who was nearly finished with his cigarette before the omission was noticed and corrected. The resident, who is legally blind and has moderate cognitive impairment as indicated by a BIMS score of 12, confirmed that he is supposed to wear a smoking apron while smoking and did not have one on during the observed incident. Record review showed that the resident's care plan and smoking safety assessment both required the use of a smoking apron due to his blindness. Facility policy also mandates that residents assessed as needing a smoking apron must wear one during smoking, and that staff are responsible for ensuring compliance. Interviews with the Activities Director and Director of Nursing confirmed that the expectation is for staff to provide and ensure the use of smoking aprons for residents who require them, and both verified that the policy was not followed in this instance.