Failure to Provide Scheduled Showers for Dependent Residents
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide scheduled showers for three residents who required assistance with bathing, as evidenced by record review and resident and staff interviews. Documentation showed that residents with intact cognition and various medical diagnoses, including hemiplegia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and a history of cerebral infarction, did not receive showers according to their established schedules. For example, one resident was scheduled for showers three times a week but only received a fraction of the expected showers over several months, with multiple dates lacking documentation of either a shower or a documented refusal. Another resident received only one out of five scheduled showers in a given period, and a third resident missed multiple scheduled showers, with documentation inconsistencies regarding refusals. Residents reported going several days without showers, and some stated that refusals were inaccurately documented by staff. Staff interviews confirmed that showers were scheduled and that refusals were to be documented, but there was a lack of resident sign-off on refusal documentation, and some staff acknowledged not seeing showers documented for the missed dates. The DON confirmed the expectation that staff follow resident shower schedules. The facility's policy required staff to provide bathing services within standard practice guidelines, but the records and interviews indicated this was not consistently followed.