Failure to Address Moisture-Associated Skin Damage Around Suprapubic Catheter
Summary
The provider failed to ensure appropriate treatment and care were provided for a resident with a suprapubic catheter and recurrent moisture-related skin irritation in the abdominal fold and perineal area. The resident had diagnoses including neuromuscular dysfunction of the bladder, type 2 diabetes with chronic kidney disease, cystostomy status, dermatitis, and morbid obesity. She reported that her catheter site bled daily and that the area around her groin was painful and irritated. Observations showed pink, moist, reddened, and excoriated skin in the abdominal fold and around the suprapubic catheter insertion site, with drainage and granulation tissue present. Record review showed repeated skin assessments documenting pink, moist abdominal fold and groin areas over multiple weeks, with intermittent irritation, moisture, and drainage. The resident’s skin assessments noted that treatment such as Nystatin powder had been used earlier, but later assessments documented no treatment or only cleaning of the area. On 3/17/26, the skin assessment described an abdominal fold with intermittent serous drainage and only cleaning as the intervention. On 3/24/26, the nurse’s progress note identified one skin condition on the perineum as moisture-associated skin damage that had not been evaluated and another on the abdomen as moisture-associated skin damage that was being monitored, with no measurements documented. Interviews and observations showed staff were aware the resident had moisture and drainage at the suprapubic site and in the abdominal fold, but the resident’s complaints of soreness, bleeding, and irritation were not consistently addressed through physician notification or documented treatment changes. The resident stated staff cleaned the site with wipes and did not use a sponge or ointment as she wanted. Staff reported cleansing the area during catheter care and applying barrier cream, but they were not aware of gauze or creams being ordered for the insertion site, and the split sponge order had been discontinued months earlier. During a later assessment, the resident grimaced and voiced pain while the nurse cleansed the area, and the nurse then obtained supplies including a split drain sponge and InterDry sheets. The facility policy required skin changes such as abrasions to be reported and monitored, and catheter care policy required observation of surrounding tissue for inflammation, swelling, discharge, burning, or discomfort.
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