Failure to Explain Arbitration Agreement to Resident Representatives
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to adequately inform resident representatives about the arbitration agreement prior to obtaining their signatures. For two residents reviewed, the representatives either did not have the agreement explained to them or were not given the opportunity for verbal communication regarding the content of the agreement. In one case, the representative sat with the Admissions Coordinator during the pre-admission meeting, but reported that the Coordinator did not explain any of the forms and only indicated where to sign. The arbitration agreement for this resident was signed without either the acceptance or declination box being checked. In another instance, the representative received the admission paperwork, including the arbitration agreement, via email and was instructed to sign without any verbal explanation or communication from the Admissions Coordinator. The representative had to interpret the paperwork independently and later expressed a lack of understanding about the agreement. Interviews with facility staff confirmed that forms were sent electronically with an offer to answer questions if contacted, but no proactive explanation was provided. The DON acknowledged that forms should be explained if not understood, but this was not done in these cases.