Failure to Re-Admit Resident Despite Bed Availability
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to re-admit a resident after the resident was cleared for return by a Long-Term Acute Care (LTAC) hospital. The resident, who had been living at the facility for two years and had diagnoses including anoxic brain injury, chronic respiratory failure, and atrial fibrillation, was transferred to a General Acute Care Hospital for generalized body swelling. After treatment, the LTAC facility issued a discharge order for the resident to return. Despite communication from the LTAC case manager to the facility's admission coordinator, the resident was not re-admitted, with the initial explanation being a lack of available beds. However, facility census records reviewed with the Director of Nursing and Administrator showed that there were open female beds available on multiple dates following the discharge order. Interviews with facility staff, including the Director of Business Development and the Administrator, revealed uncertainty and lack of clear communication regarding why the resident was not re-admitted despite bed availability. The facility's own bed hold policy indicated that the resident should have been offered the first available bed upon return, but this did not occur, and staff could not provide a reason for the failure to re-admit.