Failure to Offer and Document Pneumococcal Vaccination per CDC Guidance
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to offer, obtain informed declination, or secure physician-documented contraindications for the pneumococcal PCV20 vaccination for several residents, as required by the latest CDC guidance. Record reviews for five residents revealed that none had documentation indicating they were offered the PCV20 vaccine, had received it, or had signed a consent or declination form. Additionally, there was no evidence that the facility or resident representatives had been provided with or signed the necessary consent or declination forms for the vaccine. Interviews with facility staff confirmed that there was no definitive system in place to determine resident eligibility for the PCV20 vaccine or to track whether residents had been offered or declined the vaccination. The facility's existing policy referenced offering pneumococcal vaccinations and obtaining vaccination histories at admission, but it did not reflect current CDC recommendations for PCV20, nor was it being followed in practice. As a result, eligible residents were not consistently assessed or documented for pneumococcal vaccination status.