F0880

J

Failure to Implement Contact Precautions and Risk Assessment for Suspected and Confirmed C. difficile

Burbank, California Survey Completed on 01-31-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to implement contact isolation precautions for a resident who developed signs and symptoms consistent with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) and was later confirmed positive. The resident was admitted with diagnoses including pulmonary embolism and sepsis and subsequently developed diarrhea meeting the facility’s criteria for suspected CDI on 1/18/2026. A physician ordered a stool test for CDI on that date, but the resident was not placed on contact precautions at the time of suspicion, despite facility policy requiring contact precautions for residents with diarrhea and suspected CDI while awaiting laboratory results. The resident’s change in condition evaluation on 1/20/2026 documented CDI with onset of symptoms on 1/18/2026, and the resident was not placed on contact isolation until 1/20/2026, after the physician ordered contact isolation for a positive CDI result.

During this period, the CDI-positive resident continued to share a room with two roommates. One roommate had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, was actively receiving antineoplastic chemotherapy, and was identified as immunocompromised and at high risk for infection. This roommate’s care plan, initiated later, identified her as at high risk for nosocomial infection and indicated staff should perform hand hygiene and wear gowns and gloves during high-contact activities, but there was no evidence that this high-risk status was used to prevent her from being cohorted with a resident with active CDI. The other roommate had multiple chronic conditions, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, chronic kidney disease, type 2 DM, depression, and anxiety, and required substantial assistance with ADLs. Both roommates remained in the same room with the CDI-positive resident while an isolation cart and contact precaution sign were posted outside the room.

The facility did not complete infection risk assessments for either roommate before or during their cohorting with the resident who had CDI. The DON confirmed there was no documented evidence of infection risk assessments for these roommates between 1/17/2026 and 1/30/2026, and stated that such assessments should have been completed by the Infection Preventionist or a licensed nurse to determine appropriate roommate placement when a resident had an infection. The Infection Preventionist Nurse and DON acknowledged that the immunocompromised roommate should not have been placed with the CDI-positive resident and that the facility failed to follow its own CDI and isolation policies, which required private rooms when possible or cohorting only with low-risk roommates.

The facility also failed to inform and educate the two roommates about their potential risk of acquiring CDI and the infection control guidelines they should follow. One roommate reported not understanding why the room was on isolation and stated that staff did not provide any explanation when asked. The other roommate, aware of her compromised immune system and ongoing chemotherapy, stated she was not told why staff were wearing gowns when caring for her roommate and was reassured that it had nothing to do with her, despite her expressed concerns. The Infection Preventionist Nurse confirmed there was no documented evidence that staff notified or educated the roommates about their risk for CDI or appropriate precautions.

Additionally, the facility did not monitor the two roommates for signs and symptoms of CDI after their exposure to the infected resident. The Infection Preventionist Nurse stated that no monitoring was conducted for these roommates for CDI-related symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain or spasms, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. The Medical Director stated that staff were aware of appropriate infection control measures but failed to implement them, and that staff did not follow facility policy or CDC guidelines regarding cohorting and isolation for CDI. The DON described this as a failure in the facility’s system process, including lack of staff training on isolation precautions and infection risk assessments, which contributed to the deficient practice.

The facility’s written policies required that residents with diarrhea and suspected CDI be placed on contact precautions while awaiting lab results, and that residents with diarrhea associated with CDI be placed on contact precautions. The isolation policy further required that residents on contact precautions be placed in a private room if possible, or, if not, that the Infection Preventionist assess risks and cohort only with low-risk roommates. Despite these written requirements, the resident with CDI remained in a shared room with an immunocompromised roommate and another medically complex roommate, without documented risk assessments, without timely initiation of contact precautions at the time of suspicion, without education of roommates about their risk and needed precautions, and without monitoring of the roommates for CDI symptoms. These actions and omissions formed the basis of the cited infection control deficiency under F880.

Removal Plan

• Moved Resident 2 to Room B with no roommates due to immunocompromised condition and initiated RN Supervisor monitoring every shift for 40 days for CDI signs/symptoms.
• Designated Room A as a single isolation room and assigned Resident 1 no roommates.
• Reviewed and revised Resident 2’s care plan to reflect immunocompromised status and that Resident 2 should not share a room with a resident who has an active infection.
• Conducted in-service training for all nursing staff on Infection Control policy, with written quizzes to validate understanding; provided phone/follow-up training for staff not present prior to next shift; removed from schedule any staff who did not complete training until completed.
• Provided one-on-one in-service to the Administrator and DON on the admission process for residents requiring isolation precautions and appropriate cohorting.
• Provided one-on-one in-service training to the Infection Preventionist Nurse on infection control practices, including proper PPE use and appropriate cohorting.
• Conducted record review of all residents with changes in condition to identify residents with signs/symptoms consistent with CDI; found no other affected residents.
• Assessed all residents for CDI signs/symptoms; found no additional affected residents.
• Implemented process for DON and Infection Preventionist Nurse to review all incoming admissions to determine need for isolation/precautions and arrange appropriate room placement/cohorting.
• Implemented Infection Preventionist Nurse tracking log for all residents with active infections, including CDI, to prevent spread.
• Established monthly infection control meetings led by Administrator and IDT to ensure adherence to infection control and PPE policies and to promptly identify/address room placement and cohorting issues.
• Developed a QAPI plan for Infection Control practices including root cause analysis to be reviewed and updated during monthly QAPI meetings for three months to ensure corrective actions are effective and sustained.