Failure to Ensure Call System Accessibility for Residents in Bed
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency in the facility's provision of access to the call system for residents while in bed. During multiple observations over several days, two residents were found in bed with the handheld call device on the floor adjacent to their beds, rather than within their reach. These observations occurred both when the residents were asleep and awake. Interviews with facility staff, including a CNA, the Registered Nurse Unit Manager, and the Director of Nursing, confirmed that the call device should be attached to the resident's sheet or blanket and within easy reach when residents are in bed, and that it should not be on the floor. A review of the facility's policy on answering call lights, dated April 2016, also indicated that the call light must be within easy reach of residents who are in bed or confined to a chair. The repeated observations of the call device being on the floor and out of reach for two residents demonstrate a failure to follow both facility policy and regulatory requirements regarding resident access to the call system.