Failure to Ensure Timely Response to Incoming Calls and Maintain Functioning Communication Devices
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to administer its resources effectively and efficiently to maintain the highest practicable psychosocial well-being for 17 residents, specifically by not ensuring that calls directed to a centralized staff work area were answered and that portable phones were available and functioning. Multiple observations and interviews revealed that after hours, incoming calls to the facility were routed to nurses' stations, but staff did not consistently answer these calls. A confidential interview indicated that a resident's representative was unable to reach staff by phone on several occasions, particularly during early morning hours, to discuss concerns about the resident's care. Surveyor observations confirmed that calls to the facility went unanswered at certain times, and portable phones at the 200 hall nurses' station were missing or not functioning for an extended period. Further interviews with staff, including the receptionist, ADON, DON, and ADM, confirmed that portable phones were either misplaced or not properly charged, and that staff were expected to answer calls after hours using either land lines or portable phones. The DON and ADM acknowledged that the portable phone at the 200 hall had been missing for months and that callers could not leave messages unless they knew a direct extension. The facility's resident rights policy emphasized the importance of communication and access, but the lack of functioning phones and unanswered calls directly impacted residents' ability to communicate with the facility.