Failure to Honor Resident Choice and Secure Authorization for Removal of Personal Religious Item
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when an outside individual, specifically a priest, entered the room of a resident with severe cognitive impairment and removed a religious item without obtaining authorization from the resident's Power of Attorney (POA). The resident, who had diagnoses including dementia, Parkinson's Disease, and a history of intracerebral hemorrhage, was assessed as having severe cognitive impairment with a Brief Interview of Mental Status (BIMS) score of 03. The priest claimed to have asked the resident for permission before removing the item, but the resident's POA stated that the resident was not capable of providing informed consent due to his dementia. The POA was not notified prior to the removal of the item, and the family believed the removal constituted theft. The incident was reported to the facility's Ombudsman, who also noted that the camera in the resident's room had been turned off for approximately eight minutes during the time of the incident. The Director of Nursing (DON) and the Administrator both confirmed that no one, regardless of their status, was permitted to remove personal items from a resident's room without proper authorization from the resident or their legal representative. The Administrator acknowledged that the situation should have been addressed through a care conference with the POA, but this did not occur.