Failure to Honor Resident Choice in Dining Location and Dressing Due to Clothing Shortage
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to honor a cognitively intact resident’s right to choice in dining location and daily routine, including dressing. A resident with a diagnosis of displaced intertrochanteric fracture of the left femur, and a BIMS score of 13 indicating intact cognition, was observed one day fully dressed and seated in the restorative dining room awaiting lunch, and the next day positioned in bed with a lunch tray on an overbed table. During the second observation, the resident reported being very upset and stated that staff told her she could not get out of bed. She questioned whether she had a serious disease confining her to bed that she had not been informed about and stated she preferred to eat in the dining room but was not allowed to get out of bed. She also reported she was not in a comfortable position to eat and kept falling to her right side. Record review showed no clothing or personal items documented on the resident’s Inventory of Personal Items. An LPN stated the resident could not get out of bed because her family had not brought in enough clothes and that the facility had no clothing to offer other than a hospital gown. The Social Services Director reported that staff should contact family when clothing is lacking and that the facility maintained donated clothing of all sizes for such situations, but no staff had notified her of a shortage for this resident. A CNA reported that no pants were available in the resident’s closet on the morning in question, that she checked lost and found without success, and that she did not contact the Social Services Director for additional assistance. The CNA stated the resident was positioned upright in bed for lunch but required frequent repositioning due to leaning to the right. The facility’s Resident Rights Guidelines policy stated that residents have the right to enjoy full use of all campus areas, including dining rooms, and to exercise choice in daily activities.
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