Failure to Honor Resident Visitation Rights Due to Restricted Visiting Hours and Unanswered After-Hours Calls
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to honor a resident's right to receive visitors of their choosing at any time, as required. A sign posted at the facility entrance restricted visiting hours to 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, with re-entry after 7:00 PM only allowed with authorization via a listed phone number. Staff interviews confirmed this policy, and the receptionist stated she typically left before 5:00 PM, leaving after-hours calls to be answered by nursing staff. However, neither the Director of Nursing nor the Administrator had ever audited whether the phone was answered after hours, and both acknowledged that nursing staff were responsible for answering the phone but might be too busy to do so. A family member of a resident with severe cognitive impairment reported being denied re-entry after 7:00 PM despite attempting to call the posted number multiple times without success. Observations confirmed that the phone was not answered after hours and had no voicemail service. The family member also reported difficulty reaching the resident by phone during business hours, as calls were often not answered and portable phones were unavailable due to uncharged batteries. These actions and inactions resulted in the resident being unable to receive visitors or phone calls as desired, violating their rights and potentially affecting all residents in the facility.