Insufficient Nursing Staff and Delayed Call Light Response Affect Resident Care
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide sufficient nursing staff to meet residents’ needs and to respond to call lights in a timely manner, as required by facility policy. The Nursing Department Staff policy stated that sufficient personnel would be provided on a 24-hour basis to deliver nursing care in accordance with resident care plans, and the Call Light Response policy required staff to respond to call lights and resident requests in a timely manner. Multiple residents reported inadequate staffing and delayed care. One resident stated there was not sufficient staff and that sometimes only four nurse aides were available for the entire building; this resident was observed with facial hair on her chin, suggesting grooming needs were not being addressed. Another resident reported that staffing adequacy depended on which aides were on shift, and confirmed having urinated on themselves while waiting for staff to respond to the call light. Additional residents described prolonged call light response times, particularly at night, and one resident stated that staffing “could be more.” One resident who required ace wraps reported that staff did not always apply them and did not assist with removing them; during observation, this resident was noted to have ace wraps in place with a large amount of blood present on the wraps, and confirmed being unable to manage them independently and that call lights sometimes went unanswered. Resident Council minutes from two consecutive months documented concerns about ice water not being provided, call light response times, difficulty knowing which aide was assigned, and perceptions that nursing staff were not very nice. In an interview, the Nursing Home Administrator confirmed that the facility failed to have sufficient nursing staff to provide nursing and related services necessary to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of the affected residents.
We Help Long-Term Care Teams Stay Survey-Ready
We process and analyze inspection reports and plan of correction using AI to extract insights and trends so providers can improve care quality and stay ahead of compliance risks.