Failure to Maintain Clean Wheelchairs for Residents
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure residents’ wheelchairs were kept clean and free of dirt and debris, compromising the right to a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment for two residents. One alert and oriented resident was observed in his room sitting in a wheelchair with a cushion and seat containing a dried white substance and several dried food crumbs, with dirty hand rims from self-propulsion and visible dust and dirt on the outside of the seat; the resident believed the white substance might be from spilled drinks and did not know when the chair was last cleaned. Another alert and oriented resident was observed in a common area sitting in a wheelchair with dust and dried food debris/crumbs on the seat and on the outside of the seat near the self-propelled wheels, and this resident also did not know when the wheelchair was last cleaned. When surveyors requested a wheelchair cleaning policy, the DON reported that only a maintenance policy regarding wheelchairs could be found, indicating there was no specific cleaning policy available at the time of the survey.
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