Failure to Notify State Agency of Change in DON
Summary
The facility failed to provide written notification to the State Agency (SA) regarding a change in the Director of Nursing (DON), as required by both regulation and facility policy. Document review showed that the DON was hired on 10/07/2024, but the Administrator confirmed during interview that no written notice was sent to the SA at the time of the change. The Administrator stated unawareness of the requirement to notify the SA. A letter formally notifying the SA of the DON change was only prepared and dated on 07/01/2025, well after the DON's start date. Facility policy specifies that written notice must be provided to the SA in advance or at the time of such changes, including the identity of the new individual and the effective date.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Failure to notify the State Agency of a change in the facility administrator was identified when the administrator name in TULIP and the Facility Summary Report did not match ADM A. Staff interviews confirmed ADM A had been serving as administrator for more than 30 days, with one staff member stating he had been in the role for months, yet written notice to the State Agency was not provided at the time of the change.
Failure to Provide Disclosure of Ownership: The facility failed to present the Disclosure of Ownership during the extended survey. The AO stated the responsible department was closed and the document would be emailed later, but it had not been provided by the time of the survey exit.
The facility failed to notify the State agency when the DON went on leave and an Interim DON assumed the role. Review of the Employee Information Sheet and an interview with the CNO confirmed the change was not reported when it occurred, resulting in a citation under 28 PA Code 201.14(a), Responsibility of licensee.
The facility did not submit required written notice to the State Agency when a new ADM and a new DON assumed their positions. The DON reported starting in the role recently and confirmed she had not filed the Centralized Applications Branch (CAB) application and had not been informed of CAB expectations, while the ADM believed the DON was responsible for the application. The ADM also stated he had been in his role for several months and believed the corporate office should have submitted the change-in-ADM application. State Agency database review showed no applications received for either position, delaying verification of the ADM and DON qualifications for oversight of clinical services for 109 residents.
The facility failed to comply with disclosure of ownership and administrative change requirements by not notifying the State Agency when its NHA left and by not ensuring a qualified NHA was assigned for a two-day period. Written communications showed that the outgoing NHA informed the State Agency of his last day after the fact, and the State Agency then sought clarification from the facility’s VPO about who was acting as NHA. The VPO indicated he was acting as NHA but had been out ill, and review of the timeline confirmed there was no assigned NHA for two days. The DON later confirmed that the facility did not notify the State Agency at the time of the NHA change and did not have an NHA assigned during that period, constituting noncompliance with state requirements for licensee responsibility.
The facility failed to timely notify the State Agency (SA) of a change in the DON position for a census of 85 residents. The DON began the role but the required change-of-DON application and written notice were not completed and mailed until weeks later, as confirmed by the DON’s and acting ADM’s interviews and the dated documents. The ADM reported being unaware of the required timeframe for notification, and SA records showed the DON application was received several days after it was mailed, delaying SA verification of the DON’s qualifications.
Failure to Notify State Agency of Administrator Change
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide written notice to the State Agency responsible for licensing the facility when there was a change in the facility administrator. Based on observation, interviews, and record review, the administrator listed in TULIP during offsite preparation on 6/26/2026 did not match ADM A, and the Facility Summary Report also showed an administrator name that did not match ADM A. During interviews on 6/27/2026, LVN D stated that ADM A was the administrator and had been for a while. DON B stated that ADM A had been the administrator for more than 30 days. ADON C stated that ADM A had been the administrator for at least a couple of months, maybe even 10 months or longer, and that he was on vacation and not available. In a later interview, DON B stated that ADM A had completed the name change in TULIP, but she did not think he was currently available.
Failure to Provide Disclosure of Ownership
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to present a Disclosure of Ownership during the extended survey. On 06/04/26 at 10:18 AM, the Disclosure of Ownership document was requested from the Administrative Officer (AO). During the exit conference on 06/06/26 at 6:00 PM, the AO stated that the department responsible for completing and providing the Disclosure of Ownership document was closed and that the document would be emailed on Monday. As of 06/10/26 at 5:30 AM, the facility had not provided the Disclosure of Ownership document.
Failure to Report Change in DON
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to notify the State agency of a change in its Director of Nursing at the time the change occurred. Review of the facility-provided Employee Information Sheet on 5/27/26 at 11:45 a.m. showed that the Director of Nursing began a leave on 5/14/26. During an interview on 5/27/26 at 12:00 p.m., the Chief Nursing Officer confirmed that the facility did not notify the State Agency when the Interim Director of Nursing assumed the position on 5/14/26. The deficiency was cited under 28 PA Code: 201.14(a), Responsibility of licensee.
Failure to Notify State Agency of Changes in ADM and DON
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide required written notice to the State Agency (SA) regarding changes in key administrative personnel, specifically the Administrator (ADM) and the Director of Nursing (DON). The current DON began working in the DON position on 4/21/26, but the facility did not submit the necessary application to the Centralized Applications Branch (CAB), the SA unit responsible for reviewing licensure and certification-related transactions. In an interview, the ADM stated he did not think the CAB application for the new DON had been completed and indicated that the DON was responsible for completing it. In a separate interview, the DON confirmed she had started working at the facility eight days prior, had not filed the CAB application, and stated she was not informed about CAB expectations, indicating a lack of clarity about responsibility for regulatory notification. The facility also failed to notify the SA of the change in the ADM position. During an interview, the ADM reported he had been working at the facility since August 2025 and stated that the change-in-ADM application should have been completed and sent to CAB by the facility’s corporate office at that time. A review of the SA database showed no record of receiving an application for either the DON or the ADM from the facility. These failures delayed the SA from verifying that the ADM and DON were qualified to lead clinical services for a census of 109 residents and from confirming compliance with federal and state regulations.
Failure to Timely Report NHA Change and Maintain Assigned Administrator
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to notify the State Agency (SA) of a change in the Nursing Home Administrator (NHA) at the time of the change and failed to ensure that a qualified NHA was assigned to the facility for two days. Written communication dated 3/29/26 showed that NHA Employee E3 informed the SA that his last day as NHA at the facility was 3/27/26. A subsequent written communication dated 3/30/26 from the SA to the facility’s President of Operations (VPO) Employee E4 requested clarification regarding who was acting as NHA, as the SA had been made aware of Employee E3’s departure. VPO Employee E4 responded that he was acting as NHA “for now” and noted he had been out with an illness and would provide the requested information as soon as possible. Review of this information revealed that no NHA was assigned to the facility from 3/28/26 through 3/29/26. In an interview on 4/1/26 at 9:00 a.m., the Director of Nursing confirmed that the facility did not notify the SA of the NHA change at the time it occurred and did not have an NHA assigned during that two-day period, in violation of PA Code 201.14(a) regarding responsibility of the licensee. No residents or specific clinical conditions were mentioned in the report, and the deficiency pertains solely to administrative oversight and regulatory noncompliance related to NHA assignment and notification requirements.
Failure to Timely Notify State Agency of DON Change
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide timely written notice to the State Agency (SA) of a change in the Director of Nursing (DON) position for a census of 85 residents. The current DON reported in an interview that she began her role on 12/10/25 and that corporate staff requested her licensing information, but she did not know when the leadership change notification was sent to the SA. During a concurrent interview and record review, the acting Administrator (ADM) confirmed that the change-of-DON documents were dated and mailed on 1/7/26, rather than at the time the change occurred, and stated he was not aware of the time requirement for notification. A facility letter to the SA dated 1/7/26, signed by the DON the same day, referenced a “CHANGE OF DIRECTOR OF NURSING Application,” and SA database records showed the DON application was received on 1/13/26. This delay in notification postponed the SA’s verification that the DON was qualified to lead clinical services, which the report states had the potential to compromise resident safety and regulatory compliance for all 85 residents. The deficiency centers on the facility’s inaction in promptly notifying the SA of the DON change at the time it occurred, as required by rules on disclosure of ownership and administrative personnel changes. The DON’s start date, the later date of the application and mailing, and the ADM’s lack of awareness of the time requirement are specifically documented as the factors leading to the late reporting.
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