Limited Access to Resident Personal Funds
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that residents had ongoing access to their personal care needs accounts, as required. Interviews with the Business Office Manager and the Administrator revealed that residents could only access their funds between 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M., with no provision for access after these hours, including weekends, despite a sign indicating that funds could be obtained from the manager on duty or receptionist on weekends. The Administrator confirmed that supervisors on other shifts did not have access to petty cash and expressed distrust in allowing nursing staff to handle cash. Facility policy requires access to up to fifty dollars within a reasonable period and larger amounts within three banking days, but the observed practices did not ensure residents could access their funds as needed outside of the stated hours. This deficiency had the potential to affect all 24 residents who had authorized the facility to manage their personal financial accounts.