Failure to Provide Social Services for Resident Transfer Requests
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that medically-related social services were provided to assist a resident in achieving the highest possible quality of life, specifically by not supporting the resident's repeated requests to transfer to another facility. The resident, who had diagnoses including paraplegia, unspecified protein-calorie malnutrition, generalized anxiety, and chronic respiratory failure, was cognitively intact and had clearly expressed his desire to move closer to a specific location during multiple care conferences. Documentation showed that the resident's preference to transfer was discussed on several occasions, with the social worker assigned to assist in finding a suitable facility. Despite these documented requests, there was no evidence in the medical record that the social worker made any attempts to contact facilities in the desired area over an extended period. Interviews confirmed that the social worker was aware of the resident's wishes but relied on the resident's mother to identify a new facility, even though the resident was his own responsible party. The social worker also acknowledged that there was no documentation of follow-up actions taken to facilitate the transfer, which was a required responsibility according to the job description.