F0558

D

Failure to Provide Dignified Seating and Access to Fluids

Millersburg, Ohio Survey Completed on 01-08-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to reasonably accommodate a resident’s needs and preferences for appropriate and dignified seating and access to fluids. The resident had been admitted with diagnoses including legal blindness, cognitive communication deficit, difficulty walking, and high blood pressure, and had a physician’s order for a regular texture diet with thin liquids. On multiple observations, the resident was found lying or seated in a recliner in a common area near the front desk and main entrance, positioned at an angle with both legs hanging off the side of the footrest and the head hanging off or leaning against a handrail. The resident was not covered with a blanket, had no music or TV for engagement, and had no fluids within reach despite the diet order for thin liquids.

Over several observation times, staff seated at the nearby nurses’ desk did not reposition the resident, offer a pillow, or otherwise adjust the resident’s seating to a more appropriate or dignified position, even as visitors walked past. When the ADON stopped to talk with the resident, the resident was still not repositioned. During an activity where ice cream and cake were being passed, the resident was not offered either item while seated in the common area recliner, and there continued to be no water cup available. Later, when the resident requested to be transferred from the recliner to a wheelchair, staff assisted with the transfer, but the resident still had no drink available within reach. In an interview, the ADON confirmed the resident had been lying in the recliner at an angle, was not repositioned, and had no food or fluids within reach, and stated the resident was brought to the common area so staff could keep the resident within their sight.