Falls Care Plan Not Updated With Current Interventions
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that the falls care plan for R5 was updated to include current interventions. R5’s significant change MDS indicated intact cognition, dependence on staff for transfers, partial to moderate assistance with oral hygiene, substantial to maximal assistance with dressing and personal hygiene, and use of a manual wheelchair for mobility. R5’s diagnoses included HTN, CAD, renal insufficiency, DM, depression, and asthma. The care plan identified R5 as a moderate fall risk and included older interventions such as a low bed, treating falls as unwitnessed, pharmacy review, monitoring for injury after falls, and no blue chucks in the wheelchair seat. The record showed multiple falls and related interventions that were not added to the care plan. After falls on 3/31/25 and 4/1/25, the intervention was to lay R5 in bed when sleeping, but this was not included in the care plan. After a 5/8/25 fall, the plan included removing blue chucks from the wheelchair seat, but the additional intervention of anti-roll back brakes was not included; a GradA-aide was used instead because the chair could not have anti-roll back brakes due to oxygen use. After a 5/30/25 fall, therapy was reattempted but R5 refused, and this was not added to the plan. After falls on 7/26/25 and 7/28/25, the intervention was to monitor R5 and allow her to sleep as long as she wanted in the morning, but this was not included in the care plan. Additional falls occurred on 8/29/25, 9/28/25, 12/13/25, and 12/19/25. Staff were re-educated on safety after some of these events, and after the 12/13/25 fall staff were re-educated on lying R5 down, but R5 had been refusing to lie down when the fall occurred and this intervention was not included in the care plan. On 12/19/25, R5 fell out of her wheelchair and had a large hematoma on the left side of her forehead. Observation showed R5 in her wheelchair with oxygen at 1L NC, a device on the back of the chair to prevent rolling backward, and a low bed in her room. Interviews with nursing staff and the DON confirmed that some interventions, including close observation, wheelchair braking measures, and allowing R5 to sleep without waking her, were being used or discussed but were not on the task list or care plan. The facility policy stated that an at-risk-for-falls care plan would be completed for each resident and updated accordingly with interventions consistent with the resident’s needs.
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