Failure to Provide Orientation and Training to Agency Staff
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide required training and orientation to agency staff prior to the start of their shifts, as evidenced by interviews and record reviews. An agency CNA reported not receiving any training or orientation before her first shift and was unable to locate a resident in the electronic medical record system when asked about the resident's use of hearing aids. The CNA stated she did not receive necessary information during shift change and was unfamiliar with the facility's systems. Additionally, review of two agency nurse employee files showed no documentation of training or orientation provided by the facility. The binder presented by the Nursing Home Administrator as evidence of training contained only materials from a previous unrelated education session and not current orientation records for agency staff. Further interviews with facility leadership confirmed that agency staff were not consistently receiving training or orientation before starting work. The Regional Nurse acknowledged the lack of appropriate training for agency staff and stated that a more formal education process was supposed to be in place. The Nursing Home Administrator admitted that, although a binder with policies existed for agency staff to review, this process was not being followed consistently. Facility policy required all newly hired licensed nurses and direct caregivers to receive job-specific orientation and competency testing prior to assignment, but this was not documented or observed for the agency staff in question.