Failure to Ensure Resident Dignity and Privacy During Meal Service and Medication Administration
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to promote residents' rights to dignity and privacy in two key areas. For 128 out of 147 residents, meals were served in Styrofoam containers during breakfast and lunch on two consecutive days. This occurred because the kitchen staff arrived to find dirty pots, pans, and dishes from the previous evening and did not have sufficient time to clean them before meal service. The Dietary Manager confirmed that serving meals in Styrofoam containers was not acceptable and that the kitchen should have been properly cleaned and prepared by the previous shift. The facility's policy on resident rights, which was undated, states that residents are to be protected and promoted in their rights, including privacy and dignity. Additionally, a resident with a history of congestive heart failure and neuromuscular dysfunction of the bladder, who was cognitively intact, did not have their right to physical privacy protected during medication administration. An LPN administered insulin and performed a suprapubic catheter irrigation with the resident's door left wide open and the privacy curtain not drawn, making the resident visible from the hallway. The LPN stated the door was left open to monitor an unlocked medication cart and laptop, but acknowledged that normally the privacy curtain would be used. Both the RN and DON confirmed that staff are expected to always provide privacy during patient care, with no exceptions.