Delayed Call Bell Response Times Impact Resident Care
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to respond to resident call bells in a timely manner, as required by its own policy and confirmed by staff interviews and electronic call bell logs. The policy specified that staff should respond to call lights within 15 minutes. However, review of call bell logs for three residents revealed 16 instances where response times exceeded this standard, ranging from 19 to 91 minutes. Interviews with the affected residents confirmed that they experienced significant delays in receiving assistance, which impacted their ability to receive care and services promptly. The residents involved had significant medical needs, including diagnoses such as pneumonia, muscle weakness, difficulty walking, cerebral infarction with hemiplegia, urinary tract infection, congestive heart failure, and chronic kidney disease. All required staff assistance for activities of daily living and were at risk for falls. Care plans for these residents included interventions to ensure call bells were within reach and to encourage their use for assistance. Despite these interventions, the delays in call bell response times were confirmed by both resident interviews and facility documentation.