F0836

E

Noncompliant Bed Placement Near Radiators Resulting in Resident Harm

Arverne, New York Survey Completed on 03-25-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to comply with N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 10 § 713-1.3(h)(1), which requires that resident beds be placed so they can be approached from at least one side and one end and that no bed be closer than three feet to a window, radiator, or an adjacent bed. During an abbreviated survey conducted in response to an incident, surveyors determined that at least one resident’s bed had been positioned less than three feet from a radiator. This improper placement of the resident’s bed resulted in harm to that resident. The report identifies this as a failure to ensure compliance with applicable State and local laws governing the design and equipment of resident bedrooms for adequate nursing care, comfort, and privacy.

Interviews and record review during the survey confirmed that the facility had not consistently maintained the required minimum three-foot distance between resident beds and radiators prior to the incident. The Maintenance Director reported that the bed in the involved room had been moved away from the radiator after the incident, preventing assessment of the original distance from the radiator. A sample of rooms measured by surveyors showed several beds with distances from the radiator to the mattress of less than 36 inches, including measurements of 32, 34, and 35 inches, indicating that the deficiency was not isolated to a single room. These findings support that the facility did not ensure resident equipment (beds) was kept at the minimum required distance from radiators, leading to the cited harm to a resident.