Failure to Honor a Resident’s Existing DNR and Advance Directive
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to honor a resident’s existing do not resuscitate (DNR) order and advance directive. The resident had chronic respiratory failure, a tracheostomy, schizophrenia, severely impaired cognition, and required total assistance with all activities of daily living. The resident was nonverbal, rarely communicated, and was dependent on staff for all care. Court documentation under Kansas law authorized the guardian and conservator to consent on the resident’s behalf to the withholding of life-saving medical care, treatment, services, or procedures. The resident’s electronic medical record contained an uploaded DNR document signed by one physician, the guardian, and two witnesses, and the physician orders initially documented a DNR status from admission. Despite this, the resident’s DNR order was discontinued on a later date and replaced with a physician order for full code, all measures. The care plan was updated to instruct staff to initiate CPR when appropriate and continue until paramedics arrived. Provider notes showed conflicting documentation, with one note listing the code status as DNR and a later note documenting that the DON notified the provider that the resident required a DNR form in the chart. The provider then ordered the resident to be full code until two physicians could sign a form stating the resident was a DNR candidate and the durable power of attorney would work through the court process, and a progress note recorded that the code status was updated to full code pending completion of this process. Interviews and record reviews revealed confusion among staff regarding the validity of the DNR and the impact of guardianship paperwork. The social services designee reported that during a mock survey by regional staff, she was told the resident’s DNR was not valid because it was signed after the guardianship paperwork was in effect, and that the then-DON had the provider discontinue the DNR. She also stated she had not spoken with the guardian about a request for assistance in completing a DNR. The guardian reported that the resident used to be a DNR, that an audit required a change to full code, and that he did not understand why and had asked the facility for assistance. Administrative staff later reviewed the EMR, DNR, progress notes, orders, and guardianship paperwork and stated they had no prior knowledge of the guardian’s concern, even though facility policy required that advance directives be respected and prominently displayed in the medical record.
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