Call Lights Not Kept Within Reach for Two Residents
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency related to the facility’s failure to ensure resident call lights were within reach as required by facility policy. For one resident with chronic respiratory failure and Klebsiella pneumoniae, an observation and interview with a CNA in the resident’s room found the resident lying in bed while the call light was located on the floor, out of the resident’s reach. The CNA searched for the call light, located it on the floor, and stated that the call light should be within the resident’s reach. In a separate observation and interview with the ADON involving another resident with hemiplegia and hemiparesis affecting the right dominant side and tracheostomy status, the resident was also lying in bed when the ADON searched for the call light and found it wrapped around the bed rail, not within the resident’s reach. The ADON stated that staff must have neglected to place the call light within reach after attending to the resident and described this as unacceptable. Review of the facility’s undated “Answering the Call Light” policy indicated that when a resident is in bed or confined to a chair, the call light is to be within easy reach of the resident. These observations showed that staff did not follow the facility’s policy for two of four sampled residents, which the report states had the potential to delay their ability to request assistance when needed, increasing the risk of unmet care needs and possible injury.
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