Call Light Not Kept Within Reach for Dependent Resident
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency related to the facility’s failure to ensure a resident’s call device was kept within reach as required by the resident’s care plan and GNA Kardex. During the initial tour and screening, a resident with a degenerative neurological condition, who was dependent on others for personal care and bed mobility, was observed seated upright in bed, awake, alert, and easily engaged in conversation. The resident reported being unable to reposition themself without assistance and expressed concerns about delays in call bell response times. When the surveyor looked for the call device, it was not visible near the resident, and the resident stated they did not know where it was. The surveyor then observed the call device placed on top of the nightstand located at the foot end of the bed, and the resident stated they could not reach it there and that staff must have left it in that location. The resident’s GNA Kardex included instructions to keep the call light within reach at all times, and documented that the resident was dependent for bed mobility and required set-up assistance for eating. The resident’s care plan also identified a problem of risk for falls due to impaired mobility, weakness, and ambulatory dysfunction, with an intervention specifying that the call light should be within reach when the resident was in bed. Despite these documented requirements, the call device was not placed within the resident’s reach at the time of the surveyor’s observation.
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