Failure to Provide Adequate Nutritional and Communication Assistance
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency was identified when a resident with multiple diagnoses, including dementia, dysphagia, and severe cognitive impairment, did not receive adequate assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), specifically related to nutrition and communication. The resident's care plan indicated a risk for malnutrition and required staff to provide assistance with all meals, snacks, and supplements, as well as to use communication tools and gestures the resident could understand. However, observations revealed the resident struggled to open a milk carton, was unable to use adaptive utensils, and resorted to eating with her hands. Staff only became aware of the need for assistance after surveyor intervention, and no communication tools were present in the resident's room or at bedside during multiple observations. Interviews with staff confirmed that the resident was sometimes unable to feed herself and was difficult to understand, yet no communication aids were available to facilitate interaction. The facility's policy required necessary care to be provided to residents unable to perform ADLs independently to ensure proper nutrition, but this was not consistently implemented for the resident in question. The deficiency was substantiated through record review, direct observation, and staff interviews, demonstrating a failure to provide the required nutritional and communication assistance.