Failure to Provide Residents Ongoing Access to Personal Funds
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that residents had consistent access to their personal funds held by the facility, as required by federal and state regulations. According to interviews and record review, the Business Office Manager (BOM) was primarily responsible for managing resident funds and was typically available only during weekday business hours. The Social Services Coordinator (SSC) also had access to the safe but worked limited weekday hours. Neither the BOM nor the SSC were present during evenings, weekends, or holidays, and there was no petty cash fund available for residents to withdraw money during these times. The facility did not have posted banking hours or information regarding the availability of funds for withdrawal. Staff interviews confirmed that if residents wanted to access their funds outside of the BOM or SSC's working hours, they would need to plan ahead, as there was no system in place to accommodate requests during evenings, weekends, or holidays. The Administrator acknowledged that there had never been an instance where a resident requested funds during these times, but also recognized the lack of a process for such situations. At the time of the survey exit, the facility had not provided additional information to explain why residents did not have ongoing access to their funds, affecting 42 residents whose personal funds were managed by the facility.