Failure to Provide Preferred Language Communication Services
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to honor a resident’s right to communicate in his preferred language, Spanish, despite documentation and policies indicating that language services were available. The resident’s EMR listed Spanish (Castilian) as his preferred language, and his annual MDS showed a BIMS score of 13, indicating little or no cognitive decline. His care plan identified that he did not speak the dominant language of the facility, noted that he understood some English, and outlined approaches such as using simple English phrases, encouraging gestures or assistive devices, involving family or friends who spoke his language, and providing a language interpreter line or foreign language translation device. The facility’s Notice of Nondiscrimination also stated that free language services, including qualified interpreters and information in other languages, were available for people whose primary language was not English. In practice, staff did not implement these communication supports for this resident. A RN reported attempting to understand the resident using nonverbal cues and English, noting her own primary language was Filipino and that the resident spoke Spanish. A CNA stated that although the resident’s preferred language was Spanish, she asked him to communicate in English and did not use other communication methods. An LPN reported difficulty understanding the resident due to the language barrier and acknowledged he did not speak Spanish; he stated that CNAs were only able to obtain a few phrases from the resident. During an interview with the resident and the LPN, an interpreter from a language line was brought in using a postcard with the language line information, and the LPN indicated he had never used the language line before. The resident stated he had never used the language line to communicate with staff and that he could not have a meaningful conversation, only trying to understand what was happening.
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