F0676

E

Failure to Provide Timely Incontinence and ADL Care Leading to Prolonged Periods in Soiled Briefs

Troy, Michigan Survey Completed on 03-18-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide timely and adequate assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), specifically incontinence care and hygiene, for multiple residents. Complaints reviewed by the State Agency alleged residents waited extended periods for call lights to be answered, resulting in residents lying in urine‑soaked briefs and experiencing poor hygiene. Staff interviews confirmed that residents were sometimes found soaked in urine at the start of shifts, with one LPN stating they could tell residents had been wet for at least 1–2 hours based on dark urine rings in briefs. The LPN also reported that the unit could hold up to 57 residents and that when staffing was reduced to three aides instead of five, residents’ care suffered and call light response and incontinence care were delayed.

One resident, who was cognitively intact and dependent for toileting and transfers, reported routinely waiting at least an hour during the day and sometimes more than an hour at night for assistance with brief changes, causing them discomfort and frustration. This resident’s CNA, who worked multiple shifts, corroborated concerns about short staffing, describing assignments of approximately 16–17 residents per aide and many residents being “heavy wetters” requiring two‑person assistance. The CNA stated that at night “everybody was waiting one to two hours” for call lights to be answered and that this resident was sometimes found soaked at the start of the shift. The resident’s family member further reported that on weekends, nights, and holidays, staff frequently called off, leaving as few as two aides on the floor, and that the resident waited 1–2 hours for incontinence care; the family member also stated they had to come in to provide showers when staff did not have time.

Another resident, with Parkinson’s disease and moderate cognitive impairment, was dependent for toileting and frequently incontinent. Their family member reported the resident frequently lay 45 minutes to 1 hour in a wet brief, especially at night, and that this problem recurred despite multiple grievances. A grievance documented that the resident was found soaked and crying in the morning after allegedly being left wet all night. A third resident, with severe cognitive impairment, atrial fibrillation, and a UTI, was dependent for toileting and frequently incontinent. Their family member submitted multiple grievances with photographs of heavily urine‑soaked briefs, alleging the resident’s brief was not changed at night on several occasions, that check‑and‑change schedules (every 2–4 hours) were not followed, and that the resident was typically changed only three times per day during a three‑week stay unless the family pushed for an additional change.

This third resident’s grievances also described missed showers and lack of timely incontinence care despite prior assurances. The shower log for this resident’s 22‑day stay showed only four shower entries, with only two clearly initialed by staff and one scheduled shower date left blank, leaving no clear verification that showers occurred as scheduled. A fourth resident, cognitively intact and dependent for toileting hygiene and transfers, filed multiple grievances over several months describing call lights left on for 30 minutes to 1.5 hours without assistance, staff turning off call lights and not returning, and going up to a 12‑hour period without personal changing despite using the call light three times. These grievances documented ongoing concerns about extended call light wait times and lack of timely incontinence care. The facility’s own Routine Resident Care policy stated that incontinence care and call light responses were to be provided timely according to each resident’s needs, but the observations, interviews, and grievance records showed this was not consistently done for the residents involved.