Inaccurate Posting of Nurse Staffing Information
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that the posted nurse staffing information accurately reflected the actual number of nursing assistants (NAs) and the total number of hours worked for the posted schedules. On the observed date, the posted information indicated that ten CNAs were scheduled from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with 65 staffing hours, and one CNA from 6:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with 6 hours, totaling 81 hours. However, a review of the actual staffing schedule revealed that only one CNA worked from 7:55 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (7 hours and 5 minutes), and eight CNAs worked from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (72 hours total), resulting in a total of 79 hours and 5 minutes, not the 81 hours posted. This discrepancy was confirmed by the Director of Nursing, who acknowledged that the posted information did not accurately reflect the actual number of NAs or their hours worked on that day. Further interview with the staffing coordinator revealed that the posted staffing hours were not updated to reflect staff call-outs or last-minute changes, leading to discrepancies between the actual and posted staffing hours. The facility's policy required that the number of licensed and unlicensed nursing staff, as well as their actual hours worked, be posted daily and amended as schedule changes occurred. The failure to update the posted information as required by policy had the potential to affect all residents and visitors who relied on the accuracy of the posted nurse staffing information.