Failure to Treat Residents With Respect and Honor Communication Rights
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure residents were treated with respect and dignity and that their rights to communication and information were honored. For one cognitively intact female resident with arthritis and a pelvic fracture, an LVN entered the room while the resident was lying in bed, groaning, grimacing, and stating she was in pain. The LVN brought a cup of water and a cup with a pill, handed them to the resident, and did not speak to her, introduce herself, or explain what medication she was administering. The resident stated she was used to the nurse not introducing herself. The LVN later acknowledged she had been trained to introduce herself and explain medications but did not do so on this occasion, and stated that doing so was important for assessment. The DON stated that nurses were supposed to introduce themselves and explain medications, and that failure to do so could keep residents from having the right to be informed. For a male resident with severely impaired cognitive skills, non-Alzheimer's dementia, and Parkinson's disease, surveyors observed him lying in bed awake and alert with his call light at the end of the bed, out of reach. When questioned about the call light, the LVN entered the room without speaking or introducing herself, picked up the call light, and tossed it toward the resident while he looked at her, then straightened his blanket and walked away; the resident did not reach for the call light. In a subsequent interview, the LVN stated the resident moved around a lot and the call light would be moved, and admitted she did not speak to him because she was "just in her head," despite having been trained to introduce herself and interact with residents and acknowledging it was important because it was the residents' right. The facility's Resident Rights policy stated that all residents would be treated equally and that all direct care staff would be educated on residents' rights and the facility's responsibility to properly care for its residents.
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