Failure to Provide and Document Consistent Pressure Ulcer Care
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide appropriate care and treatment for existing pressure ulcers and to prevent new ulcers from developing for two residents. One resident was admitted with multiple medical conditions, including peripheral vascular disease and osteonecrosis, and the admission assessment and baseline care plan noted the presence of a wound without documenting its location. From admission through several weeks, nursing progress notes contained no documentation of any wounds other than a skin tear, and there were no physician orders for wound care. Despite this, the resident’s responsible party reported pressure wounds on the buttocks, provided a photograph showing two open reddened areas near the gluteal fold, and stated that the facility was not providing wound care. A urology RN later documented two open skin areas on the left medial buttock and a stage 1 pressure ulcer on the coccyx when the resident presented for a procedure, while facility nursing leadership and staff continued to deny the presence of any buttock wounds beyond the documented skin tear. The second resident had an existing care plan for a sacral pressure injury related to impaired mobility, urinary incontinence, and cancer, with interventions including performing ordered treatments and completing preventive measures. The resident’s MDS indicated cognitive intactness, need for assistance with rolling, frequent urinary incontinence, a colostomy, and one stage 4 pressure ulcer. Physician orders specified cleansing the sacrum with soap and water, patting dry, filling the wound and undermining with Aquacel AG rope, and applying a foam dressing every other day and as needed. However, review of the Treatment Administration Records showed multiple dates in two consecutive months when the ordered sacral wound treatments were not recorded as completed. The resident with the sacral pressure ulcer reported that dressings were not being changed consistently and attributed the development of the wound to not being repositioned, though she was unsure whether it originated in the facility or the hospital. She further stated that only two nurses regularly changed her sacral dressing. The regional RN confirmed the missing treatment entries on the TAR, and the ADON, who indicated that an outside wound center managed the resident’s wound care and had recently changed the treatment frequency, was unaware that treatments were not being completed and suggested agency nursing staff usage as a possible factor. The facility’s own wound care policy required that wound care be provided using professional standards of practice, which was not followed as evidenced by the lack of documented and consistently provided wound care for both residents’ pressure ulcers.
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