Failure to Care Plan for Resident Communication and Language Needs
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to update and implement a comprehensive care plan addressing a resident's communication and language needs. Record review showed that the resident's face sheet identified Vietnamese as the resident's language, with diagnoses including intracranial hemorrhage, hemiplegia and hemiparesis, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, aphagia, and pain, and a social services assessment documented Vietnamese as the preferred language. Despite this, review of the resident's care plan on 2/3/25 showed no identification of, or interventions related to, the resident's language or communication needs, even though facility policy required assessment of communication needs and use of that assessment to develop and revise a person-centered care plan. During an interview, the resident immediately requested an interpreter, stating they could not understand the interviewer and felt the facility did not care for them. The resident reported not understanding what was happening with their care and not knowing how to communicate with staff, which they found very frustrating. A nursing assistant reported they typically communicated with the resident using broken English and hand gestures and confirmed there was nothing in the care plan about communication methods, stating such information would be useful. The DON acknowledged that while the resident could express needs, it was the resident's right to fully understand what was happening, and that communication needs should be included in the care plan. The administrator confirmed the expectation that communication and language preferences be included in each resident's care plan.
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