Failure to Respond Timely to Resident Call Bell for Incontinence Care
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure that a resident’s call bell was answered in a timely manner, as required for reasonable accommodation of resident needs and preferences. During an interview, the resident reported concerns about the length of time it took staff to respond to the call bell, stating that assistance was needed with incontinence care and that the call bell had been activated at approximately 11:00 a.m. At 11:17 a.m., a staff member identified by the resident as dietary staff knocked on the door to inquire about the call bell and, upon being informed that incontinence care was needed, stated that he or she would inform the nurse aide. When the surveyor left the resident’s room at 11:35 a.m., no staff had arrived to provide the requested incontinence care. Subsequent observations from the unit’s nurses’ station until 12:03 p.m. showed no staff responding to the resident’s call bell. In an interview with the DON and NHA, the DON stated that a 15-minute wait time for call bell responses was considered too long. The surveyor then informed the DON that the resident had been waiting for over an hour for assistance after activating the call bell.
Plan Of Correction
R1's call bell was responded to and incontinence care was provided on 4/14/2026. Facility wide education will be completed regarding call bell response expectations. DON/Designee will complete random facility wide call bell response time audits daily x30 days then 3 times per week for 4 weeks. DON/Designee will report findings to QA Committee for review/recommendation.
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