F0558

E

Failure to Respond Promptly to Call Lights for Dependent Residents

Wexford, Pennsylvania Survey Completed on 03-18-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure call lights were answered in a timely manner for four residents who were dependent on staff for toilet hygiene and, in one case, toilet transfers. The facility’s Call Light Resident Communication System Policy dated 2/8/26 stated that staff would respond to call lights promptly. Resident Council Meeting Minutes from 2/18/26 documented a concern about residents waiting to be changed. A written concern from one resident dated 3/12/26 reported having a call light on for over an hour while staff walked past the room without stopping. Clinical records showed that these residents had multiple diagnoses, including high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, malnutrition, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, and atrial fibrillation, and that each was assessed as dependent in Section GG0130 for toilet hygiene, with one also dependent in Section GG0170 for toilet transfers.

During individual interviews, all four residents reported prolonged delays in call light response, particularly during the night shift. One resident stated that call lights take a long time to be answered at night. Another resident reported that response time is slow after midnight and that they had waited an hour. A third resident stated it sometimes takes an hour and a half for staff to answer the call bell at night. A fourth resident reported having to wait an hour to an hour and a half for staff to respond and stated that staff do not always come, especially at night. In an interview on 3/18/26 at 2:05 p.m., the Nursing Home Administrator and DON confirmed that the facility failed to ensure call lights were answered in a timely manner, in violation of 28 Pa. Code 211.10(c)(d) and 211.12(d)(1)(2)(3)(5).