Failure to Obtain Required Consent for Temporary Secured Unit Placement
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to obtain required consent before placing a resident in a secured unit, thereby not ensuring the resident was fully informed and understood the care and treatment to be furnished. The resident was an older female with a history of liver cirrhosis, TIA, dementia, schizoaffective disorder, depression, anxiety, and hypertension, originally admitted in 2022 and readmitted in 2025. Record review on 03/20/26 showed no consent form for placement into the secured unit. The facility’s Secured Unit Admission Criteria, dated 3/2026, specified that consent must be received for placement in the secured/locked area. According to progress notes dated 03/11/26, the resident experienced a change in condition with shortness of breath. In interviews, LVN B stated the resident was placed in the secured unit the prior week because she needed close monitoring after an episode of shortness of breath requiring oxygen, and confirmed that consent is required when a resident is placed in the secured unit. The DON reported that the resident was moved to the secured unit on the night of 03/11/26 for closer monitoring due to the change in condition and that there were more staff available in that unit. The DON acknowledged that a consent was required for any secured unit placement, that no consent was obtained for this resident even though she remained there only overnight, and stated she did not know why consent was not obtained and that this was against the resident’s rights.
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