Unattended Resident Health Information Left Visible at Nursing Station
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when confidential resident information, specifically a census containing health insurance details, was left unattended and visible on top of a medication cart at the East Nursing Station. This was observed by a surveyor, who noted that the information was accessible and not secured while staff were away from the cart. Upon return, a registered nurse acknowledged that the facility's protocol requires resident information to be covered at all times, but admitted to not following this protocol due to assisting a resident and forgetting to secure the documents. The Director of Nursing confirmed that the expectation is for all resident information to remain covered. Facility policy also states that resident health information must be kept private and confidential.