F0584

E

Failure to Maintain Clean, Private, and Homelike Resident Rooms

North Lima, Ohio Survey Completed on 02-13-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, specifically related to inadequate window coverings, unclean privacy curtains, and insufficient room cleaning. Multiple cognitively intact residents with various medical and psychiatric diagnoses reported that their room blinds did not extend to the windowsills, leaving gaps that allowed light into the room and permitted visibility from the facility parking lot into their rooms. Observations confirmed that in several rooms facing the parking lot, the blinds were too short, had broken slats, and left gaps of four to twelve inches between the bottom of the blinds and the windowsills. Residents reported difficulty achieving a dark room for sleep and concerns that people in the parking lot could see into their rooms, including when using bedside commodes.

In addition to the window blind issues, surveyors observed stained and unclean privacy curtains and dust and debris in resident rooms. In one resident’s room, there were various colored stains on the privacy curtain, a visible layer of white dust on the dresser and TV base, and a windowsill with a buildup of dirt and debris, including dried flower petals. Another resident’s privacy curtain had dark brown stains, and another had multiple orange stains. Several residents stated they had not seen anyone dusting their rooms and believed their privacy curtains had not been cleaned since admission, with one resident reporting that he had to dust his own room and another stating the curtain had never been cleaned during nearly two years at the facility.

Staff interviews corroborated these observations and resident reports. A housekeeper stated that on the day of the survey she was the only housekeeper on day shift and would only be able to clean common areas, not resident rooms, and she was unsure who was responsible for cleaning privacy curtains. Nursing staff, including an RN, an LPN, and multiple CNAs, reported seeing accumulations of dust on dressers and windowsills, dead bugs and debris on windowsills, and generally filthy privacy curtains, and several were unsure how often or by whom the curtains were cleaned. Laundry staff and the Maintenance Director confirmed there was no current schedule for cleaning privacy curtains and that they were only cleaned as needed. The Maintenance Director and Administrator acknowledged that many privacy curtains needed cleaning, rooms were not being dusted as often as they should, and many blinds were too short or broken, despite the facility’s policy stating it would provide a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment with comfortable lighting and minimal glare.

The combination of these conditions—short and broken blinds that did not fully cover windows facing a public parking lot, stained and unclean privacy curtains, and inadequate dusting and cleaning of resident rooms—resulted in residents experiencing disturbed sleep, using privacy curtains to block sunlight due to inadequate blinds, and expressing concerns about lack of privacy and feeling watched from outside. These findings affected multiple residents whose rooms faced the parking lot and were within view of anyone entering the facility.