Resident Rights Violated by Conditioning Denture Replacement on Waiver
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to honor a resident’s rights when it conditioned replacement of lost dentures on the resident’s representative signing a waiver. The resident, who had dementia, dysphagia, and a BIMS score of 3 indicating severe cognitive impairment, had her dentures reported lost on 1/24/26. A dental referral was made on 1/26/26, but the dentures had not been replaced by the time of the survey. The resident’s responsible party reported that the facility agreed to pay for replacement dentures only if she signed a waiver releasing the facility from responsibility for any lost, missing, or damaged items prior to and up to 2/6/26, and she was not comfortable signing it. The Administrator stated the facility determined it was the resident’s fault that the dentures were lost and therefore provided the waiver and release for the responsible party to sign. The dentist reported being scheduled to take dental impressions at the facility but stated he was instructed by the facility not to come until the responsible party signed the waiver. The responsible party confirmed the dentist did not arrive for the scheduled appointment and that she had not signed the waiver. The Social Services Director acknowledged that the facility required the waiver to be signed before proceeding with dental impressions and that the appointment on 2/10/26 was canceled because the responsible party refused to sign. The Social Services Director stated that requiring the waiver delayed the process for the resident to receive new dentures and that the resident was put in the middle of the situation. The DON stated the waiver was not satisfactory and that the resident had the right to have dentures replaced and to eat preferred food textures without being required to sign a waiver. The facility’s Resident Rights policy stated residents have the right to exercise their rights without interference, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal from the facility.
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