Delayed X-ray and Missed Weekly Weights
Summary
The facility failed to ensure physician orders were followed for Resident B, who had diagnoses including dementia, age-related osteoporosis, and protein-calorie malnutrition. After Resident B was found on the floor on a fall mat, follow-up assessments initially noted no injury or pain. Later, the resident was noted to have swelling and tenderness to the inner right thigh above the knee, and Nursing Home Triage was notified. Orders were given for a 4-view x-ray of the right knee, including a STAT order, but the mobile x-ray was not obtained until the next day, when the resident’s right femur was found to be broken and the resident was sent to the hospital for evaluation and treatment. Record review showed that the x-ray order was not entered and communicated promptly after it was received. A nursing note documented that the order was received and called in to the mobile x-ray company in the late afternoon, while NHT call logs showed the order had been given earlier that morning and again later that morning. The DON stated she was unsure why the LPN waited eight hours to enter the order and notify the mobile x-ray company, and said orders should be entered upon receipt. The DON also provided a nursing meeting agenda stating that x-ray orders are to be written when received and the mobile x-ray company notified, and if the x-ray cannot be obtained in a timely manner, NHT should be called for transfer orders to the hospital. The facility also failed to complete weekly weights as ordered for Resident B, who had a history of significant weight loss and was on care plans for altered nutritional/hydration status and nutritional risk. A physician order required weekly weights every Tuesday, and the TAR indicated weights were completed, but the Weights and Vitals Summary lacked documentation for multiple scheduled dates across several months. The DON stated that weights should be entered into the EMR Weights and Vitals section and that if they were not there, they were not done. The Weight Assessment and Intervention policy stated that weights will be recorded in each individual's medical record.
Penalty
Resources
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