Failure to Provide Functional Lighting for Visually Impaired Residents
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that residents had working lights in their rooms, affecting two residents who were both cognitively intact and had significant visual impairments. One resident, admitted with a history of stroke, glaucoma, peripheral vascular disease, and heart disease, was dependent on staff for toileting and personal hygiene and required glasses for full-time use. Observations revealed that this resident's overbed light was not functioning, and the resident reported that the light had been out for approximately three weeks, even after being temporarily relocated due to a non-working bed. Another resident, diagnosed as legally blind, also did not have a functioning overbed light, with only the bathroom light operational in the room. This resident similarly reported that the room lights had not worked for three weeks. Staff interviews confirmed the non-functioning lights, and the Director of Maintenance acknowledged awareness of the issue, attributing it to broken underground electrical wires and indicating that repairs were pending. Facility policy required the maintenance of adequate and comfortable lighting levels, but periodic rounds to ensure functioning lights did not prevent this prolonged outage.