F0576

D

Failure to Provide Private Telephone Access for Resident Communication

Davenport, Iowa Survey Completed on 03-25-2026

Penalty

Fine: $10,225

Summary

The facility failed to ensure a resident had reasonable access to a private area for telephone communication. The resident involved had diagnoses including heart failure, depression, and anxiety, and a BIMS score of 4/15 indicating severe cognitive impairment. The resident’s representative reported sending the resident a cell phone, which went missing after about a week, and stated that the facility did not have a portable phone available for residents, making the cell phone the only option for private calls. Staff interviews confirmed that, in the absence of a resident-owned phone, residents were brought to facility phones that did not provide privacy.

Multiple staff members, including LPNs and the receptionist, stated that residents could use phones located in the dining room or at the nursing station, but acknowledged these areas were not private. Staff also reported that the facility’s cordless phone was either not available or not connected, and that there was no other cordless phone for resident use. The facility’s written policy on Resident Right to Privacy in Communication required that residents be provided reasonable access to a telephone in an area where calls were not overheard, but the actual practice did not provide such a private area or functioning portable phone for the resident to make calls.