F0689

G

Failure to Implement Fall Interventions and Maintain Safe Equipment Leading to Resident Falls

Mattoon, Illinois Survey Completed on 01-29-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to implement fall prevention interventions and maintain a safe environment for two residents, resulting in multiple falls and injuries. One resident had multiple medical diagnoses including chronic respiratory failure with hypoxia, systolic heart failure, schizophrenia, cognitive communication deficit, morbid obesity, pulmonary embolism, and hepatic encephalopathy, and was assessed as moderately cognitively impaired and dependent on staff for most activities of daily living. A fall risk evaluation identified this resident as high risk for falls, and the fall care plan identified dizziness upon standing as the root cause of falls. The care plan included interventions such as use of a wheelchair, staff assistance to the dining room and to a chair, and keeping a bedside table within reach for personal items. The resident also had a physician order for Rivaroxaban, an anticoagulant, for pulmonary embolism.

On one occasion, the resident experienced an unwitnessed fall in a common area after attempting to stand, feeling dizzy, and falling backward, striking her head and sustaining a large purple bruise on the coccyx/sacral area. She was sent to the hospital and diagnosed with a closed head injury, cervical strain, and multiple contusions. A nurse later documented that the resident stayed in her room, expressed fear of coming out due to fear of falling, and refused to get out of bed unless in a wheelchair, sometimes choosing to soil herself rather than ambulate. Another fall occurred in the dining room when the resident, who had been walked there with staff assistance, walked independently to move to another chair, missed the chair, and fell, striking her head. This fall was witnessed by a CNA who reported seeing the resident’s head bounce off the floor, and hospital records documented a scalp hematoma. Staff interviews indicated that the resident had been complaining of dizziness when standing for several days, that staff knew she was dizzy every time she stood, and that there was no documentation showing fall interventions were in place at the time of the falls. Staff also stated that a wheelchair, which was an intervention in the care plan, had not been left with the resident in the dining room.

A further unwitnessed fall occurred when the same resident slid out of bed while reaching for candy because she did not have a bedside table. The fall investigation and nursing documentation identified the root cause as the resident reaching for personal items at bedside without a bedside table, and the intervention added afterward was to keep a bedside table at the bedside. A nurse and a regional RN stated that all residents should have a bedside table, that it is a standard piece of equipment, and that there was no reason this resident did not have one. The regional RN also stated that staff should have supervised the resident when they knew she was complaining of dizziness upon standing and that staff should follow interventions put in place to reduce falls. The facility’s falls policy stated that after a first fall, staff and the physician, if possible, should observe the individual rising from a chair, walking, and returning to sitting, and that additional evaluation should occur if there is difficulty or unsteadiness.

The second resident involved had medical diagnoses including COPD, a fractured left tibia, muscle disorder, lack of coordination, gait abnormalities, muscle wasting, phantom limb syndrome, and a right above-the-knee amputation. A physician order specified a left half side rail in the up position while in bed to enhance bed mobility, with staff to check positioning and functioning of the device. An incident note documented that staff heard the resident yelling and found her on the floor by the bed, with the left side rail on the floor beside her. The resident reported that she attempted to sit on the side of the bed using the side rail, which then fell off the bed frame, causing her to fall to the ground. The maintenance director later stated that nursing staff often remove or replace side rails and do not secure them properly, and he believed this occurred in this case, confirming the bed rail was not properly secured. The DON confirmed that only maintenance staff are to remove and install bedrails, that they must be installed correctly to be safe, and that when this resident fell, the bed rail came off the bed, indicating it had not been secured and posed a hazard that resulted in the fall.