Failure to Provide Visual Privacy Due to Missing Curtain
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency was identified when two residents, both with significant medical needs including tracheostomy and gastrostomy tube dependence as well as seizure disorders, were found in a shared room without a privacy curtain separating their beds. During an observation, it was noted that there was no curtain in place to provide visual privacy between the two residents. Interviews with the charge nurse confirmed that the facility's standard practice for ensuring privacy is to have a curtain between residents, and the absence of the curtain was acknowledged. The charge nurse was unsure how long the curtain had been missing or why it was removed, and stated that Environmental Services is responsible for hanging curtains. Further interviews with Environmental Services staff did not clarify the reason for the missing curtain. Review of the facility's policy and procedures on resident privacy and confidentiality confirmed that nursing staff are required to use curtains to provide full visual privacy during care, toileting, treatments, and other times as needed. The Director of Nursing and the Administrator both confirmed that the facility's policy was not followed in this instance, as there was no curtain present to ensure the residents' privacy.