Failure to Provide Saturday Mail Delivery to Residents
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that residents had reasonable access to and privacy in their use of communication methods, specifically regarding the delivery of mail, letters, and packages. According to interviews with Resident Council members, residents did not receive mail on Saturdays. The facility's policy affirms residents' rights to exercise their rights as citizens, which includes receiving mail. The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 mandates six-day mail delivery, but the facility did not provide for mail delivery on Saturdays. Interviews with staff revealed that activities staff were responsible for delivering mail, but no activities staff worked on weekends. As a result, mail delivered on Saturdays was not distributed to residents until Monday. The Social Services Director stated that mail was held at the post office on weekends to prevent residents from accessing undelivered mail, a practice in place since 2021. The Administrator was unaware that residents were not receiving mail on Saturdays and believed that mail delivery interruptions had ended after the pandemic. This practice had the potential to affect all 92 residents in the facility.