F0584

E

Failure to Maintain Safe Temperatures and Clean, Homelike Environment in Resident Areas

Hackensack, New Jersey Survey Completed on 01-29-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to maintain a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment in multiple resident-accessible areas. Surveyors observed that thermostats in the 3rd and 4th floor dining/activity rooms showed temperatures of approximately 67°F and 66.7°F, and a later temperature check in the 3rd floor dining room showed 64°F, below the facility’s own policy definition of comfortable and safe temperature levels and below the CMS temperature range referenced in state guidance. The 3rd floor dining room, which the LNHA stated was decommissioned and not in use, had no signage or notifications indicating it was closed, and the doors could be opened by surveyors, visitors, residents, and staff. Facility environmental temperature and safety rounds documentation did not include temperature measurements for any dining/activity areas on any floor.

Additional environmental deficiencies were observed in resident rooms and common areas. In one resident room, a white pipe was found on the floor, which a CNA stated was likely from the metal cover under the sink. On a 6th floor hallway near a resident room, a linen cart was observed not fully covered, with whitish and blackish dried substances and a brownish stain on the cover; the Director of Recreation and a CNA acknowledged the cart should not be left open and that the white stain was from soap that had burst. In two separate resident rooms on the 4th floor, privacy curtains were hanging and not properly hooked on the rods, and in one of those rooms, a ceiling vent was observed with an accumulation of grayish substances upon entry.

Surveyors also documented widespread issues with cleanliness and maintenance of floors, walls, and dining areas on the 5th and 6th floors. On the 5th floor, between specific rooms, the hallway rug was stained with a large dark brownish substance, handrails were scuffed and worn, and walls were stained with brown substances; wallpaper was peeling in at least one hallway area, and rugs throughout the 5th floor, including around the nursing station and near several rooms, had dark stains. The 5th floor dining room area had peeling wallpaper. The 5th floor RN/UM reported she had repeatedly raised these concerns with the LNHA, Maintenance Director, and DON for over a year and that shampooing every two weeks did not remove the stains. On the 6th floor, the main dining room had peeling wallpaper on the ceiling near the television and on the walls, and the rug area by the windows was stained with a brownish substance. These conditions were inconsistent with the facility’s Safe and Homelike Environment Policy, which requires a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment in all resident-frequented areas, including hallways and dining/activity rooms.