Failure to Provide Scheduled Showers and Maintain Hygiene for Dependent Resident
Penalty
Summary
A resident with diagnoses including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and arthritis, who was cognitively intact and wheelchair bound, required partial to moderate assistance with bathing and had a care plan indicating the need for help with activities of daily living (ADLs) due to weakness and pain. Despite being scheduled for showers three times weekly and having requested this frequency at admission, the resident reported going several days without a shower, a fact corroborated by their representative. The facility's bathing records showed gaps where the resident was neither provided nor offered a shower for periods of 9 and 10 consecutive days. Interviews with the Director of Nursing (DON) confirmed that there was no documentation of showers being offered or provided during these periods, and that staff were expected to document both bathing and any refusals. Facility policies required that residents unable to perform ADLs receive necessary services to maintain grooming and hygiene, and that showers be provided per request or schedule. The lack of documentation and failure to provide or offer showers as scheduled led to the deficiency in maintaining the resident's personal hygiene.