Failure to Timely Assess, Investigate, and Intervene After Resident Falls
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to timely assess and develop comprehensive care plans for residents with a history of falls prior to admission, and did not complete thorough fall investigations or implement timely and appropriate interventions for residents who experienced falls. This deficiency was identified through medical record reviews, hospital records, fall investigations, staff interviews, and policy reviews. Three residents with a history of falls were affected, with two residents suffering multiple falls within short periods, resulting in serious injuries such as closed head injuries, lumbar spine fractures, hematomas, rib fractures, humerus fracture, and acute blood loss anemia requiring hospitalization and blood transfusion. One resident was admitted with a history of falls and multiple risk factors, including metabolic encephalopathy, Parkinson’s disease, muscle weakness, and cognitive deficits. Despite being assessed as high risk for falls, the resident experienced four falls in eight days, with no new interventions added to the care plan after each event. Fall investigations were incomplete, lacking witness statements, environmental checks, and care plan updates. Another resident with repeated falls and minimal cognitive impairment also experienced multiple falls, including two that resulted in hospitalizations for significant injuries. The facility did not provide fall investigations or implement new interventions after these incidents, and there was insufficient documentation regarding the circumstances of the falls and whether existing interventions were in place at the time. A third resident with a history of falls prior to admission also experienced a fall in the facility, but the care plan was not updated and no fall investigation was completed. Staff interviews confirmed that fall investigations were not consistently performed, care plans were not updated with new interventions, and incident reports were sometimes missing. The facility’s fall management policy required individualized care plans, post-fall evaluations, and documentation of fall incidents, but these procedures were not followed for the affected residents.
Removal Plan
- Resident #88 was sent to the hospital and did not return to the facility.
- Resident #99 was sent to the hospital and did not return to the facility.
- The Administrator held a Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) meeting with the DON and Medical Director #910 to discuss the Immediate Jeopardy template and plan of removal.
- Regional Minimum Data Set (MDS) Coordinator #920 educated MDS Coordinator #100 regarding the facility’s fall management program which included an individualized fall prevention for each resident identified at risk and updating the care plan with each fall event to ensure new interventions are implemented appropriately and the physician is notified of each fall event.
- MDS Coordinator #100 reviewed the care plans of 13 residents who were currently active in the facility and had experienced a fall in the last 30 days to ensure adequate interventions are in place and care plans are up to date with interventions.
- RDCO #900 educated the Administrator and DON on completing thorough fall investigations to include completing risk management, conducting witness interviews if applicable, updating care plans with appropriate fall interventions, identifying root cause analysis, and post fall interdisciplinary notes (IDT) for all fall events.
- The clinical interdisciplinary team (IDT) will review all residents who experience a fall event during the next scheduled clinical IDT meeting which is held Monday through Friday. This meeting includes the Administrator, DON, Social Worker, and Director of Rehabilitation. The clinical IDT will complete a thorough post-fall investigation, including a root cause analysis (RCA) to determine contributing factors and intervention opportunities. The clinical IDT will ensure the individualized intervention opportunity is updated to reflect in the fall care plan with the goal of reducing the recurrence. The DON will champion the meeting and ensure compliance with documentation, investigation/RCA determination, care plan updates, and intervention implementation. Any identified concerns will result in immediate staff training and, if appropriate, progressive disciplinary action.
- The Administrator reviewed the facility’s Fall Management and Care Plan Revision policies. No changes were made. Fall trends will be brought to QAPI and reviewed monthly with Medical Director #910.
- The DON/Designee completed in-service training for all 22 licensed nursing staff focused on fall management. This included completing a fall Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation (SBAR), incident report within the medical record and fall related details. Nurses are responsible for the direct care of the resident at the time of the fall.