Failure to Ensure Resident Visitation Rights
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that a resident was allowed to have visitors of their choice, as required by visitation rights. The resident, who had diagnoses including depression and hypertension and was assessed as moderately cognitively impaired, reported that their grandson was preventing their daughter from visiting them in their room. The resident expressed a desire for private visits with their daughter and stated that they had informed the social services director about the issue, but no action was taken. The grandson, who did not have power of attorney, instructed staff to only allow visits in the lobby or outside and requested that a witness be present during visits due to ongoing arguments between the daughter and grandson. Staff, including the housekeeping supervisor and an LPN, confirmed that the grandson did not have legal authority over the resident and that the resident was their own responsible party. Despite this, staff followed the grandson's instructions regarding visitation restrictions. The administrator was unaware that the resident's visitation rights were being restricted by the grandson. The facility's policy stated that residents should have 24-hour access to visitors of their choice with the resident's consent, but this policy was not followed in this case.