F0568 F568: Properly hold, secure, and manage each resident's personal money which is deposited with the nursing home.
E

Failure to Accurately Manage and Communicate Resident Personal Funds

Mescalero Care CenterMescalero, New Mexico Survey Completed on 12-05-2025

Summary

The facility failed to properly manage, document, and communicate the personal funds of multiple residents. For several residents, including those admitted prior to and during the review period, the last documented transactions in their personal fund accounts occurred in July, despite ongoing monthly deposits and regular withdrawals for shopping and salon services. Staff did not record any deposits or withdrawals after these dates, and the quarterly financial statements provided to residents reflected outdated balances that did not account for subsequent transactions. Residents reported not being informed of their account balances and not receiving requested financial statements. Interviews with staff revealed that the Business Office Manager (BOM) was unable to determine the actual balances in residents' accounts due to a lack of access to bank statements and incomplete manual record-keeping. The BOM confirmed that the financial records had not been updated for several months and that the statements given to residents were inaccurate. Additionally, there was uncertainty regarding whether residents or their representatives had received quarterly statements as required. Multiple residents expressed distrust and discomfort regarding the handling of their funds and the lack of transparency from the BOM.

Penalty

No penalty information released
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The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.

Resources

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See other F0568 citations
Inaccurate Accounting of Resident Personal Funds
D
F0568 F568: Properly hold, secure, and manage each resident's personal money which is deposited with the nursing home.
Short Summary

Inaccurate accounting of a resident’s personal funds occurred when the facility, acting as payee for Social Security and pension, failed to apply the correct personal allowance amount and used the resident’s full Social Security payment to cover liability instead of sending the prorated amount to the POA after the resident transferred to another facility. The account was later closed with a zero balance after a check was issued to the new facility, and the BOM and Co-Owner verified the third-party biller did not provide the correct amount of personal funds due.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Provide Quarterly Resident Trust Fund Statements
D
F0568 F568: Properly hold, secure, and manage each resident's personal money which is deposited with the nursing home.
Short Summary

Failure to Provide Quarterly Resident Trust Fund Statements: The facility did not provide quarterly trust fund statements to two residents, including one resident with intact cognition and decision-making capacity and another resident with moderate cognitive impairment and no capacity to make decisions. The BOM confirmed the facility did not follow its Resident Trust Funds policy requiring quarterly statements to residents or RP, and the RP stated they had not received account statements for about a year and did not know the resident’s account balance.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Provide Quarterly Trust Fund Statements
D
F0568 F568: Properly hold, secure, and manage each resident's personal money which is deposited with the nursing home.
Short Summary

Failure to provide quarterly trust fund statements to two residents was identified. Staff stated residents should receive statements quarterly, but the NHA could not find documentation that the statements were mailed or handed out, and the two residents said they had never seen their statements.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Provide Quarterly Personal Fund Statements
D
F0568 F568: Properly hold, secure, and manage each resident's personal money which is deposited with the nursing home.
Short Summary

The facility failed to ensure quarterly personal fund statements were provided to the resident or responsible party for two residents whose money was held by the business office. One resident had severe cognitive impairment and a POA daughter who said she did not receive the statement, while the other resident had no cognitive impairment but stated she did not know who received the statement. Staff reported that statements were printed and placed in an activities box for delivery, but the activities director could not recall which residents received them.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Resident Funds Were Not Properly Accounted For or Kept Separate
E
F0568 F568: Properly hold, secure, and manage each resident's personal money which is deposited with the nursing home.
Short Summary

Resident funds were not properly tracked or kept separate from facility funds. Staff kept resident money in envelopes in a lock box, but an LPN said several envelopes had inaccurate accounting, missing receipts, and unclear balances. Review of multiple residents’ envelopes showed mismatched totals, missing money, undated entries, and a gift card recorded without a clear final accounting. The Administrator also acknowledged that Medicaid dollars had been comingled with business funds and that checks could not be accounted for because of errors.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Provide Quarterly Resident Trust Fund Statements
D
F0568 F568: Properly hold, secure, and manage each resident's personal money which is deposited with the nursing home.
Short Summary

Failure to provide quarterly resident trust fund statements. A cognitively intact resident with multiple chronic conditions said she never received a written statement for her personal funds account after admission and instead only received verbal balance updates when she asked the business office. Facility policy and the resident’s authorization form both required quarterly statements, but the BOM did not send statements or have documentation showing they were issued.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
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