Insufficient Staffing and Delayed Call Light Response
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide sufficient nursing staff to meet resident needs and to ensure timely response to call lights. Review of the facility’s staffing tool showed that staffing levels fell below the Minimum Staffing Requirement on three identified dates. Review of call light system logs for a four-day period showed that 42 residents had call lights that remained activated and unanswered for 30 minutes or longer before staff responded. The facility’s own policy, dated 12/01/25, states that call lights will relay to staff or a centralized location to ensure appropriate response and that all staff who see or hear an activated call light are responsible for responding or notifying appropriate personnel. Multiple resident interviews corroborated the call light data, with several residents reporting that call lights were not responded to in a timely manner and that they often waited more than 30 minutes for a response. These interviews occurred over two days and consistently described prolonged wait times for assistance. The Administrator confirmed that staffing fell below the Minimum Staffing Requirement on the identified dates, and an RN confirmed that 42 residents had call lights unanswered for 30 minutes or longer during the reviewed period. This deficiency was investigated under Complaint Number 2743940.
