F0921

E

Inadequate Ventilation of Flooring Adhesive Fumes and Blocked Egress During Renovation

Albuquerque, New Mexico Survey Completed on 01-16-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to maintain a safe and comfortable environment during a flooring renovation project, specifically related to inadequate ventilation of construction adhesive fumes and obstruction of the means of egress. The facility’s Safety Plan for the floor renovation, dated 09/16/2025, identified affected resident units and noted potential issues such as unpleasant odors from materials in use. The plan instructed staff to contain aerosol dust and debris with ventilation as needed, close doors where applicable to provide barriers, and remove patient activity and exposure in areas being worked on as allowable. Despite these written instructions, surveyors observed that these measures were not implemented as required during active construction.

During observations on the 400 hallway, surveyors found multiple five-gallon buckets of industrial flooring adhesive uncovered and accessible in resident areas, including three buckets in an electrical closet with the door open, one bucket on a hallway table, and another on the floor. Adhesive was visible on the sides and bottoms of the buckets, and residents were moving throughout the unit around these open containers. In resident room 427, flooring adhesive had been applied to the floor with the door left open while a construction worker, who was wearing a face mask, installed flooring. There was a strong adhesive odor throughout the 400 hallway, with no fans present, windows in room 427 closed, and the exit door at the end of the hallway also closed. Residents were present in nearby rooms 423, 424, 425, and 426 with their doors open. A visitor reported smelling a strong, unpleasant adhesive odor through a face mask and suggested that closing resident room doors would help protect them from the odor. Another resident with asthma stated she could not smell the odor due to difficulty smelling but was concerned about it.

Record review of the flooring adhesive’s Material Safety Data Sheet showed instructions that, if inhaled, individuals should be moved to fresh air, and that adequate ventilation and respiratory protection were recommended when using the product. The MSDS also directed that accidental releases be managed by ventilating the area and that containers be kept closed when not in use. Despite this, the Administrator stated she did not believe residents were at risk from inhalation of the adhesive vapors and reported no complaints during the renovation. The Plant Operations Manager stated that the hallway’s mechanical ventilation was considered sufficient and that exit doors on certain units should be opened if residents were uncomfortable, but these doors were not open at the time of observation.

The deficiency also includes extensive obstruction of the means of egress throughout the facility during the renovation. NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, requires that means of egress be continuously maintained free of obstructions or impediments. On observation, the 400 hallway, where residents were living during renovation, had its egress path blocked by two trash cans, four beds, an armchair, three tables, a chair, three 4-gallon buckets, an industrial tile cutter, and piled boxes of wood flooring strips, while residents in wheelchairs navigated around these items. Additional egress routes were blocked in multiple areas: the Utility hallway by boxes containing wheelchairs and other items; the kitchen dock hallway by a tall food tray cart, cleaning supplies, and boxes, with double exit doors further blocked by a wood pallet and a cardboard box; and the Administration wing by numerous items including vacuums, furniture, housekeeping and floor machines, a hoyer lift, medical equipment, and stacked boxes, with an emergency exit door blocked by an oxygen cylinder, printers, and boxes. Other hallways outside resident rooms had egress paths blocked or encroached upon by unused utility carts, treatment carts, a mattress, a wheelchair, a medication cart, and service carts. A resident reported being told to leave his room for most of a day so flooring could be replaced and stated that the hallway items were present when he left his room, were moved out, and then brought back, and that the hallway had been like that for a while. The Administrator acknowledged that the Maintenance Department was responsible for maintaining the facility according to the Life Safety Code, and the Plant Operations Manager stated that means of egress should be maintained throughout the remodeling period and that staff should remove items stored within the egress paths.