Insufficient Nursing Staff Leading to Unmet Care Needs and Prolonged Call Light Response Times
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide sufficient nursing staff to meet residents’ assessed needs and care plan interventions, resulting in unmet care needs and prolonged call light response times. The facility’s own “Sufficient Staffing” policy requires adequate nursing staff with appropriate competencies, daily review of staffing patterns, and adjustment of staffing based on census and resident acuity. Despite this, multiple residents and staff reported that there were not enough CNAs and that essential care tasks were not completed because staff were too busy. Surveyors directly observed long call light wait times on the unit, with call lights remaining unanswered for extended periods while staff were either not present on the hall or engaged in other activities. One cognitively intact resident reported waiting up to 45 minutes for call lights to be answered and described staff entering the room, stating they would return, and then not coming back for more than an hour, leaving needs unmet. Another cognitively intact resident with quadriplegia and physician orders and care plan interventions for daily active assisted ROM to the bilateral lower extremities stated that CNAs did not perform the ROM exercises as ordered because they were too busy. During a surveyor observation of this resident’s call light, staff entered the room within a few minutes, turned off the call light, told the resident they would notify a CNA about the need for incontinent care, and then left; incontinent care was not provided until approximately 24 minutes after the initial call light activation. CNAs later confirmed they had not completed the resident’s ROM exercises that day due to being too busy. Another resident with multiple sclerosis, paraplegia, a stage 4 sacral pressure injury, and a care plan requiring turning and repositioning at least every 1–2 hours was observed lying on her back in the same position over several hours, from early morning through early afternoon. CNAs assigned to her care acknowledged that she should be repositioned every 2 hours and admitted that she had not been repositioned during the shift until cares were provided around 2:00 PM, stating they did not always have time to reposition her. A different resident reported that there was one CNA for 20 residents and described waiting up to 1.5 hours for assistance to use the bathroom, resulting in an accident that made the resident feel terrible, humiliated, and disrespected. Surveyors also documented multiple call lights active for 10–32 minutes before being answered, including one instance where a nurse manager walked past a room with an active call light without responding. A further cognitively intact resident with lymphedema, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, morbid obesity, and a care plan requiring two staff for all cares and use of a Hoyer lift to and from the commode reported that there were not enough staff, especially on evening and night shifts. This resident stated she had to wait up to an hour for staff to answer her call light or assist her off the commode, and that prolonged time on the commode caused numbness in her right hip and leg and purple discoloration on the backs of her legs. She also reported sitting on a Hoyer sling all day, causing painful indentations, and stated that when she complained, staff became sarcastic, so she stopped voicing concerns. CNAs interviewed by surveyors stated there were not enough staff to complete all resident care needs, specifically citing that repositioning, ROM, and oral care often did not get done because there was too much to do, and that they were unable to take breaks due to workload, further confirming that staffing levels were insufficient to meet residents’ care plan requirements and daily needs.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Insufficient nursing staff were present on a unit when a resident who required 2-person assist for ambulation and toileting was found walking from the bathroom to bed alone after waiting for help. At the time, only an LPN and a clerk were observed on the unit, while other NA staff had already punched out and the second nurse was charting on another unit.
Insufficient CNA Staffing and Delayed Resident Care: Residents and staff reported that CNA coverage was inadequate on evenings, nights, and weekends, leading to delayed call light response and unmet care needs. A resident with impaired mobility and another with CVA-related deficits reported long waits for assistance, while a CNA stated she was the only CNA on a hall overnight and had not been able to check many rooms. The Administrator and CNA Supervisor acknowledged staffing shortages, especially on nights and weekends, and resident council and grievance records also documented concerns about short staffing.
Insufficient nursing staffing led to delayed and incomplete resident care. The facility scheduled fewer CNAs than required by its assessment, often leaving only 5 to 6 CNAs on day shift instead of 8, and staff were told to cancel shifts when census dropped. Residents reported long waits for toileting and assistance, including being left in feces and waiting during meals for help, while CNAs described working alone, delayed call light response, missed or delayed ADL care, and difficulty completing 2-person transfers and mechanical lifts.
Delayed response to activated call lights was identified for a resident with intact cognition who required assistance with toileting, transfers, and ambulation and had care plan interventions for impaired mobility, safety, weakness from TIA, and fall risk. The resident reported staff often shut off the call light without providing help, and alarm records showed multiple response times over 15 minutes, including several lasting more than 30 minutes and up to nearly an hour. Staff and the DON acknowledged that response times had exceeded the expected timeframe, and the facility policy required staff to respond to engaged call lights in a timely manner.
A resident with a PEG tube, dysphagia, dementia, epilepsy, and other neurologic conditions had scheduled meds ordered through the tube, but the eMAR showed no meds documented for an entire evening med pass. The RN/UM said she worked a double shift because of a nursing call-out and forgot to document the meds as given, and the DON acknowledged the missed documentation.
Insufficient nursing staffing and delayed call light response were identified after residents reported waits of 30 minutes to 2 hours for assistance, including one resident left in the bathroom for 45 minutes and another with a 55-minute wait after activating a call light. The CNA scheduler said staffing was based on a corporate PPD target of 2.85 hours per resident rather than acuity, and records showed multiple weekend shifts with CNA, UM, and RN call-offs or no-shows. Residents also reported staff sitting in the lounge, not responding to lights, and unmet toileting and care needs.
Insufficient nursing staff on unit
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient nursing staff to meet the needs of every resident and to have a licensed nurse in charge on each shift. During an observation on 7/7/26 from 6:54 a.m. through 7:02 a.m., only LPN Employee E10 and the 2A clerk were observed on the nursing unit, while the resident room bathroom call light for Resident R239 was illuminated. At 7:03 a.m., Resident R239 was observed ambulating from the bathroom to bed by herself and stated she got tired of waiting for help. LPN Employee E10 then went to assist her because there were no other staff on the unit. Resident R239's plan of care identified that she required assistance of two staff for ambulation and toileting. Review of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. staff punch-out times showed one NA punched out at 6:48 a.m., one NA punched out at 6:58 a.m., and two others punched out with the supervisor at 7:00 a.m.; the first NA for the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift was observed on the unit at 7:02 a.m. During interview, the Nursing Supervisor stated the second nurse for the 2A unit was on 2B charting and no other staff were on the unit. The Nursing Home Administrator later confirmed that the facility failed to have sufficient nursing staff to provide nursing and related services to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being for Resident R239.
Insufficient CNA Staffing and Delayed Resident Care
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient nursing staff to meet residents’ needs in a timely manner and failed to have enough CNA coverage on evenings, nights, and weekends. The report states the facility had 108 residents and could not provide a staffing policy. Interviews with the Administrator and CNA Supervisor confirmed that nights and weekends were the hardest shifts to fill, that staff shortages were common, and that administrative staff were being used to help cover evening hours when CNA shifts were not fully staffed due to call-ins or no-shows. The CNA Supervisor also stated that optimal staffing on the 200 hall would be two CNAs on all shifts because many residents required two-person assistance with mechanical lifts. Several residents described delayed responses to call lights and assistance needs. One resident with diagnoses including acute respiratory failure, diabetes mellitus, anemia, anxiety disorder, and cognitive communication deficit stated the call light system was not working and that she had been given a whistle to use instead; she reported prolonged waits for staff response, especially after dinner and overnight, and said she had had incontinence episodes while waiting. Another resident with cerebral infarction, hemiplegia, major depressive disorder, and cognitive communication deficit stated she waited longer in the evening and overnight when using the call light, and that weekends seemed to have less staff available. A family member present during that interview stated staff worked hard but did not have enough help, especially on second shift and weekends. A third resident with anemia, muscle weakness, and need for assistance with personal care stated her call light system did not work and she had been given a dinner bell to use when needing assistance. She reported waiting 30 minutes or more for help with her incontinence brief during evening and overnight hours. A CNA working the night shift stated she was the only CNA assigned to the 200 hall at that time, that only 5 CNAs total were working nights including the supervisor, and that she had only checked 4 rooms since arriving before 2:00 AM, with 8 rooms or 11 residents still not checked on her hall. Resident council minutes also documented concerns that there were not enough CNAs on weekends, and a grievance form documented a resident complaint about not receiving a shower due to short staffing.
Insufficient Nursing Staffing and Delayed Resident Care
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient nursing staff in accordance with its facility assessment and residents’ care needs. The assessment called for 1 RN, 2 LPNs, and 8 CNAs on day shift; 3 LPNs and 8 CNAs on evening shift; and 3 CNAs plus 2 additional staff on night shift. However, the nursing schedule from June 2026 through July 3, 2026, showed no days with 8 CNAs assigned to the day or evening shift, with day shift typically staffed by only 5 to 6 CNAs. On one day, a note next to two staff names stated, “If all show, go home,” leaving only 5 CNAs on the floor. On another day, one CNA called off and was not replaced, leaving 3 CNAs for the 100-400 units and 1 CNA for the villa. Residents and staff described delays in care and difficulty meeting basic needs because of the staffing levels. One resident, who had multiple diagnoses including multiple sclerosis, trigeminal neuralgia, convulsions, malnutrition, COPD, hypotension, and epilepsy, was dependent on staff for ADLs and reported being left in feces for 45 minutes because no one was available to assist. The resident also reported that during meal times, call lights were not answered until meals were finished because aides were feeding residents and no one else was available. Another resident, who was dependent on staff for ADLs and had diagnoses including hemiplegia, chronic pain, depression, and falls, stated that the facility was short-staffed and that CNAs were stressed and unable to perform their jobs as they should. Multiple CNAs and the DON confirmed the staffing shortages and the effect on resident care. CNAs reported working alone in the villa, being told no additional CNA would be assigned until census exceeded 18, waiting for help with two-person transfers and mechanical lifts, delayed call light response times of up to 25 minutes, and residents being left soaked in urine overnight because there was not enough staff. The DON stated he wanted additional nurses and CNAs but was told to cancel staff when census dropped. The facility’s fall list also showed an increase in unwitnessed falls from 3 in May 2026 to 15 in June 2026.
Delayed Response to Resident Call Lights
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to consistently respond to activated call lights within a timely manner for one resident. Resident #47 had a BIMS score of 15 out of 15 and required partial/moderate assistance with toileting hygiene and toilet transfers. The resident’s care plan identified impaired mobility, safety concerns, functional performance deficits related to weakness from a transient ischemic attack, and risk for falls, with interventions directing staff to keep the call light within reach, encourage use of it for assistance, and provide prompt response to requests for help. During observation, Resident #47 stated the call light had been activated for several minutes and was shut off by staff without assistance being provided, and the resident reported this happened often. Staff F acknowledged shutting off the call light when unable to assist the resident to the bathroom. Review of the facility’s excess response alarms showed multiple call light response times for Resident #47 ranging from 16.7 minutes to 57.3 minutes. Staff interviews confirmed that an appropriate response time was under 15 minutes, and the DON acknowledged that call lights had exceeded 15 minutes at times. The facility policy stated all staff were to respond to an engaged call light to rule out an emergency situation and that resident needs such as transfers, toileting, and dressing were to be addressed in a timely manner.
Missing Medication Documentation After Short-Staffed Shift
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide sufficient nursing staff to ensure that medications and treatments were properly documented for one resident. Resident #47 had diagnoses including late effects of cerebral infarction, aphasia following cerebral infarction, dysphagia, dementia, epilepsy, hypertension, and gastrostomy status. The resident’s MDS indicated the resident was rarely or never understood and had a tube feeding. Physician orders included multiple scheduled medications administered via PEG tube and enteral feeding orders. Review of the eMAR for the evening shift showed no medications documented as administered for the entire medication pass. The medical record did not contain a nursing progress note explaining that the resident was out of the facility, refused medications, or otherwise accounting for the missing documentation. The RN/UM stated she worked a double shift because of a nursing call-out and, while working as the med nurse, forgot to document that the medications had been administered during the evening shift. The DON acknowledged that the RN/UM had worked two consecutive shifts due to a call-out and forgot to document administering the resident’s medications during the evening med pass.
Insufficient Nursing Staffing and Delayed Call Light Response
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide enough nursing staff every day to meet resident needs and failed to ensure a licensed nurse was in charge on each shift. During a confidential resident group meeting, residents reported that call light response times were commonly about 30 minutes, could be as long as two hours, and that one resident had been left in the bathroom for 45 minutes before yelling for help. Residents also stated that the facility needed more staff and that staff called in too often. During interviews and record review, the surveyor learned that the facility used a corporate per-patient-day guideline of 2.85 hours per resident and did not use resident acuity in scheduling. The CNA/staff scheduler stated that management did not want staffing to go over or under that target and that she scheduled as close to it as possible. She also stated that weekend staffing was stacked to anticipate call-offs, and that residents had reported only one CNA on night shift, although she said clock-in records did not show that. She further stated that 3rd shift staff were in the lounge watching TV and not responding to call lights, and that the cameras did not work. Payroll and staffing records showed multiple weekend shifts with call-offs and short staffing across CNA, unit manager, and licensed nurse shifts, including several dates with multiple call-ins or no-shows on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shifts. Residents reported long waits for call lights, unmet toileting needs, and staff not responding or returning after entering rooms. One resident’s concern form documented a 55-minute wait after a call light was activated, and another resident stated that staff did not respond for 30 minutes to 3 hours. The DON, regional clinical consultant, and NHA all acknowledged that PBJ staffing was submitted at the corporate level, and the NHA was aware of excessively low weekend staffing that had triggered in March 2026.
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