Failure to Provide Scheduled Showers and Bathing Assistance
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide showers or alternative bathing to two residents who required assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs). One resident, admitted with end stage renal disease and assessed as having intact cognition, was care planned to receive showers twice weekly on specific days. However, documentation revealed that for two separate periods, spanning eight days and six days respectively, there was no evidence that the resident received a shower, bath, or bed bath as scheduled. Another resident, admitted with a displaced femur fracture and moderate cognitive impairment, also required substantial or maximal assistance with bathing. The care plan for this resident did not specify the frequency or schedule for showers or baths. Documentation showed that the resident went five days and, in a separate instance, seven days without any recorded shower, bath, or bed bath. Additionally, a family member inquired about the last time the resident had been bathed, indicating concern over the lack of bathing. Interviews with facility staff confirmed that showers were generally scheduled twice weekly, and that bed baths were offered as alternatives. Both the Director of Health Services and the Executive Director acknowledged that going six to eight days without bathing did not meet facility expectations, unless there were extenuating circumstances such as hospitalizations or refusals, which were not documented in these cases.