F0686

K

Failure to Prevent, Assess, and Manage Pressure Ulcers and Skin Breakdown

Council Bluffs, Iowa Survey Completed on 01-30-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide adequate pressure ulcer prevention, assessment, and treatment, and to prevent the development and worsening of pressure ulcers for multiple residents, most extensively documented for Resident #29. Resident #29 was admitted without pressure ulcers and initially assessed with a Braden score of 20 (not at risk), later decreasing to 16 (at risk) and then to 9 (very high risk). An in-house acquired Stage 2 sacral pressure ulcer was first documented on 11/28/25 with measurements, and again on 12/6/25 with increased size. On 12/16/25, the wound was documented as a Stage 2 ulcer but without any measurements. From 12/16/25 through 1/3/26, there were no complete wound assessments with measurements, descriptions, or photos, despite ongoing skin check entries that noted a pressure injury on the coccyx/sacrum without measurements or detailed description. During this period, the care plan did not reflect new or updated interventions in response to the in-house acquired Stage 2 ulcer or its deterioration.

Resident #29’s wound worsened significantly without timely or adequately documented provider notification or changes in treatment. Infection documentation from 1/1/26 through 1/5/26 noted a sacral ulcer infection with odor but lacked measurements, wound description, and MD notification. On 1/3/26, an unstageable sacral pressure ulcer with slough/eschar, strong odor, and a much larger area was documented. A subsequent 1/5/26 skin and wound evaluation described an unstageable ulcer with slough/eschar and large dimensions, again without physician notification. The DON acknowledged that weekly wound assessments with measurements and descriptions were not completed between 12/16/25 and 1/3/26 and that the wound did not change from a Stage 2 to a large unstageable ulcer overnight. Interviews with nursing staff indicated that the wound had gotten larger and worse, that the NP was told it looked worse, and that treatment orders were not changed from 12/16/25 until the resident was seen at a wound clinic on 1/2/26. Hospital records later documented a sacral decubitus ulcer with foul odor, significant necrotic tissue, and debridement down to ligamentous structures and exposed bone.

The deficiency also includes failures in basic preventive care such as repositioning and incontinence management for Resident #29. The resident, who had multiple sclerosis and could not reposition herself, reported that staff were not turning her every 2 hours as ordered and that she had to set an alarm on her phone to prompt staff. She stated that some overnight shifts only repositioned her once late in the night and that she had reported these concerns multiple times. Staff interviews corroborated concerns that the resident was not being repositioned appropriately and that CNAs had reported the wound was not improving but were told to apply cream without the nurse assessing the area. There were also reports that a CNA refused to change the resident’s saturated brief, allegedly stating there were no briefs and reapplying the same brief, while another CNA described only “freshening up” the resident and not returning later in the shift. The DON and nursing staff acknowledged that CNAs may not recognize or report early pressure injuries, that CNA reports to nurses were sometimes undocumented, and that “a lot of balls were dropped” regarding wound care.

For Resident #2, the deficiency includes incomplete and inaccurate wound assessment and documentation, and failure to align the care plan with identified skin risks and conditions. Resident #2 was admitted with a Braden score of 17 and a documented need for repositioning at least every 2 hours, and had incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) on the buttocks present on admission. Wound evaluations showed large fluctuations in the documented size of the IAD over time, including a significant increase in area on 12/5/25 and later a marked decrease by 12/30/25, followed by another large increase on 1/6/26. The 12/12/25 wound evaluation lacked any measurements, and a photo from 1/6/26 showed two areas consistent with Stage 2 pressure ulcers on the sacrum/coccyx that were not documented as such in the record. The MDS identified that the resident was at risk for pressure ulcers and had MASD, and that interventions such as pressure-reducing devices and nutrition/hydration interventions were in place, but the care plan only reflected a generic potential for pressure injury and did not include the specific skin issues or interventions identified on the MDS.

Interviews and record reviews further demonstrated systemic issues contributing to the deficiencies. The NP reported that she was shown a picture of Resident #29’s wound on 12/16/25 and then only heard again around Christmas via a text that the wound looked worse and needed a wound care visit; she did not receive updates on the wound clinic’s findings and was not informed when the wound became unstageable or significantly deteriorated. She stated she would have expected notification with such changes and that the wound appeared preventable and should not have progressed to its current state. Nursing staff acknowledged expectations to notify physicians of wound changes, lack of improvement, or deterioration, but also acknowledged that this did not occur consistently for Resident #29. The DON confirmed that physician notifications and wound assessments were missing or incomplete, that CNA reports were sometimes not documented, and that there were multiple failures in wound care practices across the facility.

Overall, the documented actions and inactions include failure to perform consistent, measurable weekly wound assessments; failure to document and communicate wound deterioration and infection to providers; failure to update care plans and interventions in response to new or worsening pressure ulcers; failure to ensure regular repositioning and timely incontinence care; and failure to accurately identify and document pressure ulcers versus dermatitis. These failures affected multiple residents, with detailed evidence for Residents #29 and #2, and were acknowledged by the DON and nursing staff as significant lapses in wound care and skin integrity management.