Failure to Use PPE for Residents on Enhanced Barrier Precautions
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure proper infection control techniques were used for residents on Enhanced Barrier Precautions (EBP). Two residents with significant medical needs, including tracheostomies and feeding tubes, were identified as requiring EBP, which included the use of gowns and gloves during high-contact care. Both residents were dependent on staff for eating, toileting, and personal hygiene, and their care plans and physician orders specified the need for PPE during care involving their feeding tubes and tracheostomies. Despite these requirements, observations revealed that an LPN provided tube feeding and checked feeding tube sites for both residents without donning the required PPE. The LPN acknowledged that signs indicating EBP were posted outside the residents' rooms and confirmed awareness of the PPE requirement, but stated that PPE was not available in the rooms at the time care was provided. Facility policy also required PPE use for residents with indwelling medical devices, such as feeding tubes, during high-contact care.