Failure to Ensure Required CNA In-Service Education and Respectful Resident Treatment
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that a certified nurse aide (CNA) completed the required minimum of twelve hours of in-service education annually, as mandated. Review of CNA #22's employee file showed that only three out of twelve required in-service sessions were attended in the previous twelve months, totaling just three hours of education. The missed in-services included critical topics such as resident rights, infection control, code of conduct compliance and ethics, emergency preparedness, elopement, customer service with a person-centered approach, first aid basics, behavior management, communication and conflict resolution, and abuse and neglect. This deficiency was confirmed by the Business Office Manager, who verified the incomplete training record. Interviews with two residents, both with intact cognition and relevant psychiatric diagnoses, revealed concerns regarding CNA #22's conduct. One resident reported being treated in a disrespectful manner by CNA #22, though she did not feel threatened. Another resident witnessed the same CNA treating the first resident in an undignified and disrespectful way, describing the behavior as disrespectful but not abusive. These findings, combined with the incomplete in-service education, had the potential to affect all 56 residents in the facility.