Unsafe Shower Chair Transfers and Ineffective Brakes Leading to Resident Fall and Head Injury
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure safe transfers and prevent accidents during use of shower chairs and wheelchairs, resulting in a serious fall with head injury for one resident and unsafe transfer practices for others. One resident with diagnoses including atrial fibrillation, dementia, chronic kidney disease, obesity, sequelae of cerebral infarction, diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension, and osteoarthritis was care planned as at risk for falls and required partial/moderate assistance for transfers. During a transfer from a shower chair to a wheelchair after a shower provided by a CNA, the resident reported asking if both the shower chair and wheelchair were locked and being told they were. The resident stated she placed her hands on the arms of the shower chair, began to stand, and the shower chair moved backward; she was unable to sit back down and fell to the floor, striking her head. She reported that the CNA was in front of her near the wheelchair rather than behind the shower chair securing it, and that in the past staff had held the back of the shower chair during transfers. Hospital documentation following this event described a mechanical fall while the resident was getting out of the shower chair when it slipped, causing her to strike her head, with imaging showing a possible 2–3 mm subarachnoid hemorrhage and a minimal parieto‑occipital hematoma. Facility staff interviews provided differing accounts of the transfer mechanics but consistently indicated that the resident was transferring from the shower chair to the wheelchair when the incident occurred. The CNA involved stated he locked both the shower chair and wheelchair, that the resident declined assistance and transferred independently, and that she became weak, sat on the edge of the shower chair seat, and the back of the chair raised and tipped forward. The facility’s incident note documented that the CNA reported holding the wheelchair while the resident transferred and that one of the shower chair wheels came out, causing her to lose balance and fall. Nursing leadership interviews reflected conflicting recollections of whether the resident was holding the shower chair armrests or the wheelchair armrests at the time of the fall, but confirmed that the shower chair moved and that a wheel was reported to have come off. Further observations and staff interviews revealed that the plastic‑caster shower chairs used in the facility did not remain stationary even when their brakes were applied, and that staff were aware they could slide or roll on tile floors. Direct testing of the shower chairs showed that with the brakes locked, the chairs could still be propelled or rolled on the tile floor. A maintenance director initially stated he had no concerns about the brakes and that CNAs knew they had to hold the shower chairs because they slide on tile regardless of brake use, later acknowledging that the wheels did turn despite the brake mechanism being applied. An LPN and CNA demonstrated that locked shower chair wheels could roll when pushed, and another CNA stated she did not rely on the brakes, instead using her own strength to hold the chair and at times moving a shower chair and positioning a wheelchair for a resident without locking the wheelchair brakes before seating the resident. In another observed transfer, a cognitively intact resident who required only setup or cleanup assistance was able to pull a locked‑brake shower chair toward himself and cause it to slide backward as he sat, and was then transported down the hall with the shower chair brakes still locked while the wheels continued to roll. These observations occurred in the context of a facility transfer policy that required stabilizing or locking all surfaces, including wheelchairs and beds, and prohibiting residents from pulling up on assistive devices to achieve standing, indicating that the transfer practices and equipment performance did not align with the written policy. The residents involved in these events had significant medical and functional conditions relevant to safe transfers. The resident who fell and sustained a head injury had intact cognition per MDS but multiple comorbidities including prior cerebral infarction, morbid obesity, and dependence on renal dialysis, and was care planned as at risk for falls. Another resident had dementia, unsteadiness on feet, abnormal gait and mobility, lack of coordination, and weakness, and required supervision/touching assistance for all transfers; during an observed shower transfer, his shower chair rolled slightly back when he stood because the CNA was holding his incontinence brief and not securing the chair, and the CNA acknowledged that most shower chair brakes were not solid and that she did not put faith in them. A third resident with Parkinson’s disease with dyskinesia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, congestive heart failure, cardiomegaly, osteoarthritis, and prior cerebrovascular events was cognitively intact and required only setup or cleanup assistance for transfers, yet was able to move a locked‑brake shower chair toward himself and cause it to slide during transfer. Across these cases, the combination of shower chairs whose wheels rolled despite engaged brakes, staff reliance on physical strength rather than reliable braking mechanisms, and failure to consistently secure both the shower chairs and wheelchairs during transfers contributed to unsafe transfer conditions and the cited deficiency. The facility’s own transfer policy specified that all surfaces, including wheelchairs and beds, must be stabilized or locked, and that residents should push up from wheelchair armrests and not pull up from assistive devices to achieve standing. However, the observed practices showed residents pulling on shower chair armrests and moving chairs with brakes applied, staff not always locking wheelchair brakes before seating residents, and staff acknowledging that they did not rely on shower chair brakes because they allowed movement on tile floors. The facility was unable to provide a manufacturer’s instruction manual for the shower chairs in use, and staff interviews indicated awareness that the chairs could slide even when brakes were engaged. These documented actions, inactions, and equipment conditions formed the basis of the deficiency for failing to ensure the environment was free from accident hazards and that adequate supervision and safe transfer practices were provided to prevent accidents.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Failure to ensure effective fall alarms and supervision: two residents had Smart Caregiver monitoring devices set to LOW volume, and one resident's bed alarm did not alert staff before the resident was found on the floor after an unwitnessed fall. One resident had dementia, osteoporosis, prior TIA, and cognitive impairment and was fully dependent on staff, while staff also found that a second resident's bed and recliner alarms did not activate properly during testing.
Failure to assess the safety of perimeter mattresses for two residents. Both residents had severely impaired cognition and significant mobility limitations, and both care plans included use of a perimeter mattress to define the edges of the bed. However, their Mobility, Physical Device, and Fall Risk assessments lacked documentation of a perimeter/defined edge mattress assessment. Staff interviews showed inconsistent understanding of the required order, IDT review, engineering review, and safety assessment before use.
Improper Mechanical Lift Transfers: A resident with dementia, spinal cord dysfunction, and dependence for transfers was supposed to be moved with a full-body mechanical lift and two staff members, but a TMA stated she transferred the resident alone. The resident reported that staff sometimes used only one person for lift transfers because of staffing shortages, while other staff and the DON stated this was unsafe and against policy.
Two residents were involved in accident-hazard deficiencies. One resident with cancer, PVD, and Alzheimer’s disease was observed in a wheelchair with feet extending past short footrests, with the lower legs resting against the hard footrests despite a care plan entry for padding. Another resident with dementia and a hx of falls had an unwitnessed fall, but ordered orthostatic BP monitoring was not completed accurately and staff reported no post-fall PT referral was received.
A resident was given a new electric wheelchair without a prior therapy assessment and could not stop the chair, causing it to strike a bed frame and resulting in a leg laceration, tibia/fibula fractures, and a syncopal episode from blood loss. Another resident with cognitive impairment and high fall risk continued to self-transfer and fall, but the care plan was not updated with new fall interventions after repeated incidents.
A CNA used a Hoyer lift alone to weigh one resident, and another CNA was observed using a Hoyer lift alone to weigh a second resident. One resident’s care plan called for a 2-assist Hoyer lift, and the facility’s lift competency checklist and policy both required two caregivers for mechanical lift use; the DON and Director of Therapy also stated that two staff members are always required.
Failure to Ensure Effective Fall Alarms and Supervision
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide adequate supervision and effective use of assistive fall-prevention devices for two residents who were reviewed for fall precautions. One resident had diagnoses including unspecified dementia, age-related osteoporosis, a history of transient ischemic attack, and cognitive impairment, and was described by the POA as weak, bedbound, and unable to participate in physical therapy after a prior right femur fracture. The resident was completely dependent on staff for eating, hygiene, mobility, and toileting, and the care plan included a bed alarm per orders. The resident was found on the floor next to the bed after an unwitnessed fall. The POA reported receiving a call from the facility that the resident had been found on the floor and was not injured, and stated the resident frequently forgot to ask for help and had tried to get up without assistance before. A nurse stated the bed alarm was not heard when the resident fell, and the facility was unable to provide evidence that the bed alarm functioned as intended or alerted staff before the resident was found on the floor. The event report identified the fall as unwitnessed and did not indicate that a bed alarm alerted staff. The facility also failed to ensure the Smart Caregiver sensor pad monitoring system used for another resident was functioning properly and set at an audible volume. Two Smart Caregiver monitor boxes at the nurses' station for that resident's bed and recliner were observed set to LOW volume, and the chime settings faced the back wall of the desk. When a CNA tested the recliner alarm from the resident's room, the monitor at the nurses' station did not illuminate or sound an alert on either attempt. The CNA changed the batteries but did not retest the device, and both CNAs stated they could hear alarms only if they were near the nurses' station and did not recall training on operation or testing of the devices. The facility director stated the facility did not perform preventive maintenance on the devices and relied on staff to ensure they functioned properly.
Failure to Assess Safety of Perimeter Mattresses
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that 2 residents with perimeter mattresses were assessed for safety. One resident had a significant change MDS showing severely impaired cognition, dementia, reduced mobility, muscle weakness, and need for assistance with bed mobility, sitting, standing, and transfers. That resident’s care plan identified limited physical mobility related to dementia with mood disturbance and anxiety, a genetic muscle disorder, spinal stenosis, and osteoarthritis, and included use of a perimeter mattress to help find the edges of the bed for bed mobility. However, the resident’s Mobility, Physical Device, and Fall Risk assessment lacked documentation of an assessment for a perimeter/defined edge mattress. The second resident’s annual MDS showed severely impaired cognition, dementia, multiple sclerosis, repeated falls, and need for partial to moderate assistance with bed mobility. The care plan identified limited physical mobility related to weakness, falls, incontinence, hypertension, renal disease, dementia, MS, depression, and delusional disorder, and included use of a bariatric sized bed with a perimeter mattress to define the edges of the bed. That resident’s Mobility Physical Device and Fall Risk assessment also lacked documentation of an assessment for a perimeter/defined edge mattress. During observation, the resident was in bed asleep with a perimeter mattress. Staff interviews showed differing understanding of whether a physician order, assessment, IDT review, engineering review, and safety assessment were required before use of a perimeter mattress, and the DON confirmed both residents’ most recent assessments lacked documentation of a perimeter/defined edge mattress assessment.
Improper Mechanical Lift Transfers
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure transfers were performed according to R24’s assessed needs, care plan interventions, and facility policy. R24’s records showed she had diagnoses including non-traumatic spinal cord dysfunction, diabetes, dementia, depression, heart failure, and asthma. She was dependent on staff for toileting and transfers, was frequently incontinent of bowel and bladder, and had care plan directions for assistance with transfers using a full-body mechanical lift and two staff members. During interviews, a TMA stated she transferred R24 with the full-body mechanical lift by herself because R24 needed to use the bathroom and she felt the transfer was safe. R24 stated staff sometimes transferred her with only one staff member and said they told her there was not enough staff. Other staff interviewed stated transfers with the full-body mechanical lift using one staff member were unsafe and should not occur. The facility policy for using a mechanical lift stated that at least two trained associates are needed to safely move a resident with a mechanical full-body floor-based lift or ceiling/overhead full-body lift.
Unsafe Wheelchair Fit and Incomplete Post-Fall Monitoring
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide an environment free from accident hazards for two residents. Resident 27 was readmitted with diagnoses including cancer, peripheral vascular disease, and Alzheimer's disease and was sometimes able to make needs known. On multiple observations, Resident 27 was seated in a slightly tilted back wheelchair with feet extending beyond the footrests, and the back of the lower legs rested against the hard footrests above the ankle/heel area. A pillow was observed either on the floor or behind the legs rather than padding the footrests. The focused care plan for skin integrity included padding to wheelchair footrests, and staff interviews confirmed the footrests were too short and needed adjustment or replacement, but staff had not notified therapy or otherwise addressed the wheelchair fit. Resident 50 was admitted with diagnoses including dementia, history of falls, and UTI and was sometimes able to make needs known. The care plan identified the resident as at risk for falls. After an unwitnessed fall in the 300 hallway, the incident investigation added interventions to monitor orthostatic blood pressures and refer to physical therapy. However, the record showed an orthostatic blood pressure order on 05/20/2026 was not completed, and subsequent orthostatic blood pressures recorded the same blood pressure and pulse for all three positions on 05/22/2026, 05/23/2026, and 05/24/2026. Staff later stated they had not received a post-fall therapy referral, and the DNS stated the resident should have had orthostatic blood pressures taken accurately to rule out orthostatic hypotension.
Failure to assess electric wheelchair use and update fall interventions
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to comprehensively assess a resident for the use of an electric wheelchair and failed to develop new interventions to reduce fall risk for another resident. The report states that the facility’s policies required a device evaluation before an electric wheelchair was initiated, resident education and consent, and an updated service plan identifying device use and other interventions. The fall management policy required individualized care plan updates, a systematic review after each fall, identification of root cause, and review of prior interventions when new interventions were implemented. Resident 73 was admitted with weakness and lymphedema and had an above-the-knee left leg amputation, requiring assistance with bed mobility, transfers, and locomotion. The resident’s record showed cognitive intactness, lower extremity impairment, supervision or touch assistance for bed-to-chair transfers, and use of a manual wheelchair. On 4/17/26, a newly issued electric wheelchair was delivered and the resident was assisted into it. The resident reported that the representative showed how the chair worked but not enough, and that the resident did not know how to stop it. The resident then returned to the room, could not stop the chair, and the chair continued forward into the bed, causing the resident’s right leg to strike the metal bed frame. The resident sustained a five-centimeter laceration to the right anterior lower leg, fractures of the right tibia and fibula, and a brief syncopal episode secondary to blood loss. The resident also received an anticoagulant, which contributed to significant bleeding. The clinical record contained no evidence that the resident had been assessed to safely operate the electric wheelchair before use. Resident 3 was admitted with a right total hip replacement with deep hardware removal and post-traumatic osteoarthritis of the right hip. The resident had a high fall risk on Morse Fall Scale assessments, cognitive impairment on OT evaluation, and a PT evaluation showing a score of zero on the Short Physical Performance Battery, indicating high fall risk and increased risk of mobility disability. The resident fell on 3/31/26 after getting up independently and sustained a right femur fracture requiring surgical repair, and fell again on 5/12/26 after getting up independently and sustained a skin tear to the right elbow. The care plan identified fall risk and included reminders to use the call light, non-skid socks, and one-person assistance for toileting and transfers, but revisions to the care plan did not add new or amended fall prevention interventions. Staff statements indicated the resident continued to self-transfer and toilet without assistance, staff believed the resident was independent, and the existing fall prevention interventions were ineffective.
Unsafe One-Person Use of Mechanical Lift
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure safe use of a mechanical lift for 2 of 3 residents reviewed for accidents. During an observation on 6/2/2026 at 8:42 AM, Resident #4 was lying on his bed on top of a Hoyer pad while CNA Staff K stood on the right side of the bed with a mechanical lift; the lift hand bags were observed over the resident, and no other staff member was in the room. Staff K stated that he was weighing Resident #4 and that normally only one person uses the Hoyer lift for weights, although the resident’s care plan documented a Hoyer lift with 2 assist. On 6/4/2026 at 10:15 AM, CNA Staff D was observed using a Hoyer lift alone to obtain Resident #13’s weight, with the resident lifted approximately 12 inches off the mattress in the sling and no other staff present. Staff D stated that he was performing weekly weights and most of the time did the weights using the Hoyer lift by himself. Resident #13’s MDS Section GG coded the resident as dependent, and the facility’s mechanical lift competency checklist stated that two caregivers are present, while the facility policy for using a mechanical lifting device stated that at least two nursing assistants are needed to safely move a resident with a mechanical lift. The DON and Director of Therapy both stated that a mechanical lift should always be used by two staff members.
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