Failure to Maintain Laundry Equipment and Provide Adequate Linens
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain building equipment and provide adequate linens, resulting in a lack of a clean, comfortable, and homelike environment for residents. Multiple residents reported significant delays in receiving their personal laundry, with some waiting over a week and being forced to wear dirty clothing due to the unavailability of clean items. Residents and nursing assistants consistently described a shortage of washcloths and towels, with staff sometimes resorting to using sheets for bathing and being unable to provide proper care due to insufficient linens. Observations confirmed that linen carts and closets were frequently empty or severely understocked during care shifts. Staff interviews revealed that the facility had only one consistently functioning washing machine for several months, making it impossible to keep up with both facility linens and residents' personal laundry. Laundry aides reported that the turnaround time for personal laundry was significantly delayed, often taking up to 72 hours instead of the expected 24 hours. Despite repeated reports of linen shortages and equipment failures to the Administrator and Director of Housekeeping, no effective action was taken to resolve the issues, and the facility did not utilize available options such as sending laundry to outside facilities or borrowing linens from sister facilities. Further investigation found that some laundry equipment had been out of order for extended periods, with one washing machine nonfunctional for almost two years and a dryer for nearly four years. The Director of Housekeeping was unaware of the full extent of the equipment failures and did not have authority over repairs or purchasing. The facility also lacked policies addressing residents' rights to a clean, homelike environment and did not provide requested policies on laundry or environmental standards.