Failure to Properly Maintain and Label Oxygen Equipment
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to provide respiratory care consistent with professional standards for one resident receiving oxygen therapy. During an initial tour, a resident was observed in bed with a nasal cannula and oxygen running at approximately 2 liters per minute. The oxygen humidifier bottle in use was dated over a month prior, and the nasal cannula tubing had no date label indicating when it was last changed. Upon dual observation, an LPN confirmed that the nasal tubing was not dated and the humidifier bottle had not been changed since the date marked. The LPN was unable to state how often the humidifier water should be changed and acknowledged that the water should not have remained unchanged for such an extended period. The DON was later informed and confirmed that the last change date for the tubing was unknown due to the lack of labeling.