Failure to Maintain Resident Dignity and Ensure Accessible Call Light
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to maintain dignity, privacy, and appropriate coverage for a cognitively intact resident with Parkinson’s disease, muscle wasting, muscle weakness, and adult failure to thrive. The resident, admitted in late June 2025 and requiring substantial/maximal assistance with upper and lower body dressing, was observed lying in bed with the room door and privacy curtain open, wearing only a t-shirt and incontinence brief, and without any blanket or sheet available for covering. The resident stated he was not comfortable being uncovered and exposed and wanted to be covered. A personal care aide confirmed that the resident could be seen from the hallway, had no blanket or sheet, was only in a t-shirt and incontinence brief, and acknowledged the resident should have been covered. The facility also failed to ensure the resident’s call light was within reach, despite a care plan directive that staff ensure the call light remained accessible. On multiple observations, the resident was lying in bed with the call light placed near or over his right shoulder, which he confirmed he could not reach due to limitations in his hands and arms. One personal care aide confirmed at the time of observation that the resident could not reach the call light, and another aide admitted she had completed personal care and left the room without ensuring the call light was within reach. A physical therapist reported that, due to Parkinson’s disease, the resident’s ability to move his arms and hands varied by day but was limited on an ongoing basis. The resident’s uncle reported that on numerous occasions during visits he observed the call light was not within the resident’s reach.
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