Resident Excluded from Resident Council Meeting Despite Expressed Interest
Penalty
Summary
A resident with a diagnosis of anxiety disorder and mild cognitive impairment was not allowed to participate in a resident council meeting, despite expressing a desire to attend. On the day of the meeting, the resident was observed in the main dining room and indicated to an LPN that she wanted to stay for the meeting. The LPN informed her that she was not on the list and removed her from the room, resulting in her absence from the meeting. The resident's care plan included interventions to involve her in out-of-room activities and to invite her to favorite and new activities, and records showed she was a regular member of the resident council and had attended previous meetings. Facility policy stated that all residents are eligible and encouraged to participate in resident council meetings. The administrator confirmed that anyone who was alert and oriented could attend, regardless of whether they were on the list. The resident was documented as oriented to person, place, and situation by psychiatry, and had no behaviors noted on her most recent MDS assessment. Despite this, the facility created a list for the meeting that only included residents deemed alert and oriented, and the resident was excluded from participation based on this list.