Failure to Inventory and Return a Resident’s Personal Belongings
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to follow its own policy for inventorying and tracking a resident’s personal belongings. The facility’s policy titled “Resident Personal Clothes and Belongings Handling” states that upon admission and annually, personal belongings such as clothing and items like TV, recliner, and bookcase are to be listed, with the CNA submitting the list to the charge nurse so it becomes part of the resident’s chart. During interviews, the DON stated there was no inventory list for resident R4’s belongings, and the Administrator confirmed that inventory sheets are supposed to be completed, uploaded to the system, and used to track what residents bring into the facility. However, the Administrator acknowledged that there was no inventory sheet for R4. A CNA explained that for new admissions, a staff member, usually a CNA, is supposed to record the resident’s belongings on a form, have the resident sign it, and then give it to the nurse, but also stated that new items brought in after admission are not logged. The CNA further described that upon discharge, belongings should be bagged by the CNA and taken to a storage area by housekeeping. The Administrator stated that belongings are packed up when residents leave, stored, and either returned when they come back or held for 30 days while the facility contacts family if the resident does not return. During the survey, the Administrator located a bag of R4’s personal belongings, including a Bible, on the third floor with no name on it, still in the facility and not returned to R4, demonstrating that the facility did not implement its inventory and tracking procedures for this resident’s personal property.
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