Failure to Complete Assessment Prior to Secure Unit Placement
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to complete an assessment prior to placing a resident on the secure/memory care unit. Record review showed that the resident was admitted with multiple diagnoses, including ataxia, dementia, psoriatic arthropathy, recurrent depressive disorder, wandering, and adult failure to thrive. The care plan identified the resident as an elopement risk due to behaviors such as pacing the halls and wandering into other resident rooms, and included interventions like checking the secure tech bracelet and encouraging family involvement. However, there was no evidence in the medical record that an assessment was conducted to determine the appropriateness of placement on the secure unit before admission. Interview with the DON confirmed that the assessment was not completed prior to the resident's admission to the secure unit. A functional assessment was only completed after the resident was already on the unit, which documented severe mentation impairment, uncooperative and resistive behaviors, wandering, verbal and physical abuse, social inappropriateness, and exit-seeking. The resident had a history of attempts to exit home, aggression, and had recently attempted to exit the building, triggering the alarm. This deficiency was identified during a complaint investigation.