Failure to Inventory and Safeguard a Resident’s Personal Belongings
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to protect and account for a resident’s personal belongings, specifically a black safe box containing valuables and collectibles, following admission. The resident was admitted with diagnoses including respiratory failure, heart failure, and muscle weakness, and had a BIMS score of 12/15 indicating moderate cognitive impairment. Her personal belongings were transferred from another facility three days after admission. The resident reported that she did not receive her belongings in her room until days after delivery because staff could not locate them, and when the belongings were finally brought to her room, the black safe box was missing. A CNA confirmed that the resident reported the missing safe and that the CNA had never seen it in the room. The Social Service Director stated that the resident’s belongings were transported from another facility but there was no documentation that the belongings were received upon delivery, and it was unclear whether the black safe box was included. The Social Service Director also stated that a personal inventory was completed after admission but could not identify the date. A nurse reviewing the electronic record could not locate the resident’s personal inventory and explained that the facility no longer kept paper charts and the inventory should have been uploaded but likely was not. The DON stated that an inventory sheet should have been completed at the time the belongings were delivered and within 24 hours of admission. Review of the Resident Personal Belongings Inventory showed that the inventory was not completed until months after admission, and the black safe box was not listed. The facility’s Theft and Loss policy required that an inventory of resident belongings be completed on admission and that items brought in after admission be added to the inventory list, which was not followed in this case, resulting in the resident’s black safe box being unaccounted for and causing her emotional distress.
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