Failure to Maintain Safe and Comfortable Room Temperatures During Extreme Heat
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide a comfortable, homelike environment for two residents who experienced inadequate cooling in their shared room. Both residents, who were cognitively intact and had multiple medical diagnoses including major depressive disorder, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, reported that their room felt warm and that the air conditioning was not functioning properly. One resident stated that he had reported the issue on a Friday, but the air conditioner had not been fixed, leading him to leave his room early in the morning due to discomfort. The other resident confirmed that the air conditioning had not been working for a long time and that the air coming from the unit was not cold, despite the windows being closed. Temperature readings taken in the room showed a heat index above the recommended maximum, with the highest recorded at 84.8 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity at 69%. Maintenance staff acknowledged that attempts to repair the air conditioner were unsuccessful and that temperature monitoring was not conducted in the affected room as required by the facility's extreme weather policy. Instead, temperatures were only taken in facility hallways and in one location on each floor, with no documentation showing that temperatures were monitored every two hours in the residents' room during the period of extreme heat. The facility's policy requires maintaining room temperatures between 71 and 81 degrees Fahrenheit and monitoring every two hours during extreme weather, but these procedures were not followed in this case.