Failure to Ensure Privacy During Wound Care Procedure
Penalty
Summary
A nurse was observed providing wound care to a resident's left buttock without pulling the privacy curtain between the resident's bed and her roommate's bed. The nurse was positioned on the resident's left side, with the resident's backside exposed for treatment. The resident's blankets were pulled down, her gown was lifted, and her incontinence brief was unfastened and pulled down on her backside, though her front remained covered. The roommate was present in the room, seated in a wheelchair near the foot of her own bed, eating a snack, and was not observed looking toward the resident receiving care. The resident receiving wound care was documented as severely cognitively impaired, while the roommate was coded as moderately impaired and was unresponsive to attempts at conversation. During interviews, the nurse acknowledged that she normally pulls the privacy curtain during such procedures but admitted to missing this step on this occasion. Both the DON and the facility Administrator confirmed that the expectation is for privacy to be maintained during resident care, and that the nurse should have ensured the privacy curtain was used during the wound care procedure.