F0628

D

Failure to Document Admission/Discharge and Provide Required Transfer, Appeal, and Bed-Hold Notices

Abbotsford, Wisconsin Survey Completed on 03-11-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide a resident with required transfer/discharge notices, appeal rights information, Ombudsman contact information, and written bed-hold and return-rights information, as well as failure to document the admission, fall, and discharge. A resident (R7) was accepted for admission from a referring hospital with the understanding that she was a pivot transfer. Upon arrival, she traveled approximately two hours and was placed in a wheelchair that was too small. Shortly after arrival, while seated in the wheelchair, she reached down to pick something up and slid from the chair onto the floor. EMS was called because staff were unable to get her up from the floor, and she was transported to the emergency room. The facility’s electronic record for the resident contained only pre-admission documents such as advance directives, hospital discharge summary, and insurance information, but no admission documentation, progress notes, assessments, incident reports, or discharge documentation.

The facility’s Admissions Coordinator stated that the resident was not admitted to the facility and reported that the resident could not transfer as reported by the hospital, slid from the wheelchair, and was sent to the hospital via EMS. The Nursing Home Administrator, however, stated that the facility had accepted the resident as an admission and that no admission paperwork had been completed. The Administrator reported that therapy was asked to assess the resident’s transfer status, but before that occurred, the resident had already fallen from the wheelchair. The Administrator stated that the facility did not have the appropriate equipment, such as a bariatric hoyer lift or sling, to care for the resident when it was determined she could not pivot transfer. The facility did not provide evidence that the resident was assessed at the facility to determine her transfer status, nor did it provide documentation that the resident’s needs could not be met in the facility as required by its transfer/discharge policy.

The facility did not provide evidence that the required transfer/discharge process was followed. There was no documentation that the resident or her representative received written notice of transfer or discharge, including the specific reason for transfer, effective date, location of transfer, appeal rights, or the name, address, phone number, and email of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. There was also no evidence that the resident or representative received written information on the facility’s bed-hold duration, reserve bed payment policy, or the right to return to the facility. The facility did not provide evidence of communication with the receiving hospital explaining the reason for the resident’s discharge or documenting agreement to re-admit the resident. Although the Administrator reported being told that a correct hoyer sling would be ordered for the resident, the facility did not provide evidence that such a sling was ordered. The facility was unable to provide evidence that its own transfer and discharge policy requirements were met for this resident.

The surveyor’s review of communications showed only an email chain in which the Admissions Coordinator initially accepted the resident for admission and later informed the referring hospital that there were issues when the resident arrived, that she could not transfer as reported, and that she slid to the floor and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. No further communication with the hospital after the resident’s transfer was provided. A discharge summary from the receiving hospital documented follow-up needs related to deconditioning, weakness, ankle and knee instability, bariatric management, and UTI, but the facility did not produce any pre-admission assessment indicating the resident’s transfer status or any documentation that the discharge process, including notices and appeal information, was followed. Overall, the facility failed to document the resident’s admission, fall, and discharge and failed to provide the required notices and information related to transfer/discharge, appeal rights, Ombudsman contacts, and bed-hold and return policies.