Failure to Honor Resident’s Right to Smoke per Facility Policy
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to honor a resident’s right to smoke in accordance with its own Resident Smoking and Tobacco Use Policy. The policy, effective 08/01/2025, stated that residents had the right to smoke, and that residents who were cognitively impaired or had mobility limitations could only smoke under staff supervision, with staff responsible for monitoring compliance. Resident #6’s Quarterly Minimum Data Set dated 12/26/2025 showed a Brief Interview for Mental Status score of 15, indicating the resident was cognitively intact. Despite this, the facility’s undated list of smokers identified Resident #6 as an unsafe smoker. Resident #6 reported on 01/22/2026 that he was not allowed to go outside to smoke at night because he was not on the list permitting smoking after 7:00 PM. An LPN confirmed that Resident #6 was not on the list of smokers allowed to smoke past the extended hours of 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The DON stated that the security guard, evening receptionist, and/or night receptionist were responsible for supervising unsafe smokers who wanted to smoke outside the 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM timeframe. However, two receptionists reported that unsafe smokers were not allowed to go outside to smoke at night and that only residents on the safe smoker list could go out during those hours. Both receptionists acknowledged they had previously refused Resident #6 the ability to smoke at night because he was not on the safe smoker list, resulting in the resident being denied the right to smoke during nighttime hours.
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