Failure to Implement Speech Therapy Choking Precautions and Supervision During Meals
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to maintain a resident environment free from accident hazards and to provide adequate supervision to prevent accidents for one resident with a history of choking. The resident was an older female with COPD, mild protein-calorie malnutrition, pneumonitis due to inhalation of food and vomit, dysphagia, prior food in the larynx causing asphyxiation, GERD, cognitive communication deficit, and Type 2 diabetes. Her MDS showed intact cognition (BIMS 15), a mechanically altered therapeutic diet, and a need for setup or cleanup assistance with eating. She experienced at least two choking incidents while eating in her room in 2026, including a documented event on 3/7/26 and another on 3/13/26. During the 3/7/26 incident, an agency LVN responded to the room, found the resident sitting upright, red in the face but without cyanosis or respiratory distress, and documented that the resident was able to cough and clear her airway. The LVN noted the resident’s preference to keep her diet the same and attributed the event to the resident talking while eating, notified the nurse practitioner, and documented continued monitoring. On 3/13/26, the ADON responded to another choking episode after a visitor reported the resident was choking. The resident was found in bed at about a 30-degree angle with facial flushing and signs of distress, awake and responsive, with apparent food lodged in her throat. The head of the bed was elevated to about 50 degrees, and within about 30 seconds the resident expelled a half-dollar-sized piece of cauliflower. The ADON notified the charge nurse, speech therapist, and nurse practitioner. Following consultation, the resident’s diet was downgraded to mechanical soft pending further speech evaluation, and a chest x-ray was ordered to rule out aspiration. The care plan was revised on 3/16/26 to include a problem of choking while eating, a goal for safe meal consumption without choking, and approaches such as chest x-ray as ordered, downgrade to mechanical soft diet, ensuring proper positioning prior to meals, and speech therapy assessment and treatment as indicated. However, the care plan did not address the 3/7/26 choking incident and was not revised to include specific discharge recommendations from speech therapy for occasional supervision, upright posture during meals, and upright posture for more than 30 minutes after meals. Speech therapy records showed the resident received services from 1/13/26 to 3/12/26 for cognition and was re-referred on 3/13/26 for the choking episode, with the speech therapist immediately downgrading her diet to mechanical soft and observing her eat that diet 17 times. The speech therapy discharge summary dated 4/21/26 recommended mechanical soft solids, all liquids, general swallow precautions, upright posture during meals and for more than 30 minutes after meals, and occasional supervision for oral intake. These recommendations were not translated into physician orders or incorporated into the resident’s active orders, which only reflected in-room dining preference, setup assistance for eating, and a consistent carb mechanical soft diet with special instructions. Multiple CNAs reported they only set up the resident’s tray, chopped food as needed, and that the resident preferred to eat in bed in her room; they stated they had never supervised her during meals and were unaware of any requirement for supervision, noting she was not on any feeding/supervision list and that no nurse had informed them of such a need. The resident and her roommate both reported that only the speech therapist had watched her eat, and no other staff were present during meals. During a lunch observation, staff delivered and set up the resident’s mechanical soft tray, remained in the room for about two minutes, and then left, with no staff supervising the resident while she ate. Interviews with nursing and therapy leadership revealed gaps in communication and implementation of therapy recommendations: the speech therapist stated he provided the discharge summary with recommendations to the Director of Rehab and expected nursing to provide occasional supervision; the Director of Rehab stated discharge recommendations would be discussed in morning meetings and that it was the ADON or DON’s responsibility to convey them to nurses and CNAs. The ADON, Interim DONs, and other nursing staff reported they were unaware of the resident’s choking history, the 3/7/26 incident, or the need for occasional supervision and upright posture after meals, and the ADON could not initially explain how therapy recommendations were communicated to nursing. The facility’s accident/incident policy required immediate reporting of incidents and ongoing documentation for three days following an incident, but staff interviews indicated that an incident report and referral to speech therapy should have been completed after the first choking incident and that recommendations from therapy should have been communicated via the 24-hour report and in-services, which did not occur. These actions and omissions resulted in the resident not receiving the recommended occasional supervision and specified positioning during and after meals, despite her documented choking episodes and therapy recommendations.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Unsafe Cord Placement and Failure to Follow Fall Interventions: A resident with cognitive impairment and wheelchair use had a TV power cord stretched tightly across the closet doorway, blocking access and creating an environmental hazard when staff had to lift the cord to open the closet. Another resident with severe cognitive impairment and a fall-risk care plan repeatedly ran barefoot in the hallway while staff observed but did not consistently provide planned interventions such as gripper socks, footwear, ambulation assistance, or redirection.
A resident with impaired cognition, cancer, non-Alzheimer's dementia, extensive ADL needs, and a fall history was identified as a high fall risk with care plan interventions including removing a movable bedside table. After a fall, the resident was found using the table as a walker, yet observations showed the table still placed beside the bed on multiple occasions, including when staff were present. Staff interviews confirmed they were unaware of the current fall prevention interventions and that the table remained at bedside for meals despite the care plan.
Failure to complete a restraint assessment before using a wheelchair alarm for a resident with muscle weakness, difficulty walking, repeated falls, and dementia. The care plan included the alarm as an intervention, but the record lacked an initial Restraint Evaluation, and the CNO confirmed the assessment had not been completed before the alarm was placed.
A resident with cognitive deficits, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, fracture, and repeated falls was dependent for toileting and care planned for an EZ stand with 2-person assist. During observed transfers, staff placed the harness and straps correctly, but the resident only rose to about 135 degrees and never came to a full stand, while staff remained by the bathroom door during privacy periods and continued the transfer despite the resident not standing fully. An RN stated the resident was expected to stand straight up with the EZ stand and that staff should sit the resident back down and try again if not.
A resident with Alzheimer's disease and dementia was found wandering in the parking lot after leaving the building unsupervised. A family member visiting another resident saw her looking into car windows and alerted staff, who were not aware she had exited until the report. Staff interviews showed the resident had been seen earlier eating in the dining room, but no one was actively looking for her or knew she had left the facility.
A resident with parkinsonism and Alzheimer's disease, severe cognitive impairment, and a fall history was pushed in her wheelchair without foot pedals and was not assisted when she called out for help. Nursing notes and staff interviews showed a CNA propelled the resident multiple times without foot pedals, including one instance where her socked foot hit the floor, and staff acknowledged that foot pedals should be used when pushing a resident.
Unsafe Cord Placement and Failure to Follow Fall Interventions
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure a television power cord was properly secured and maintained so it did not create an environmental accident hazard for R46. R46’s quarterly MDS identified moderate cognitive impairment, maximum assistance needed for dressing, grooming, and toileting hygiene, moderate assistance with transfers, and wheelchair use. During observation, R46 was in his room with the television mounted on the wall between the bathroom and closet, and the power cord ran across the closet doors and across the upper drawer of the dresser to a surge protector on top of the dresser. When R46 tried to open the closet doors, the cord was stretched tightly across the doorway and prevented the doors from opening fully unless the cord was lifted away. A later observation showed NA-D had to lift the cord above the closet door to open it and retrieve clothing. NA-D stated the cord had been positioned that way for about one year and could be dangerous if R46 pulled on it, and maintenance staff stated they were only notified that day that the television needed to be fixed. The facility also failed to ensure fall interventions were followed for R13, who had severe cognitive impairment with disorganized thinking and inattention, verbal behaviors toward others, and dependence on staff for footwear and partial to moderate assistance with dressing. R13’s care plan identified her as at risk for falls and included interventions such as ambulating with the resident, encouraging gripper socks, obtaining slip-on shoes, reducing noise, offering snacks, assisting her back to her room when running in the hallway, offering a wheelchair, and redirecting her to slow down. During observations, R13 repeatedly exited her room barefoot and ran through the hallway, including multiple times over an extended period, while staff observed but did not provide gripper socks or shoes, walk with her, redirect her to slow down, or offer other care-planned interventions. Staff interviews indicated they had difficulty redirecting her because she became agitated, and the DON stated the care plan should be followed to ensure safety.
Failure to Follow Fall Prevention Care Plan
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to implement care planned interventions to prevent further falls for one resident who was reviewed for falls. The resident had moderate impaired cognition, diagnoses including cancer and non-Alzheimer's dementia, required extensive assistance with ADLs including toileting, transfers, and locomotion, and had a history of falls. The resident's care plan identified the resident as a high fall risk related to de-conditioning, cognitive deficits, and prior falls, and included interventions such as anti-rollbacks on the wheelchair, appropriate footwear, keeping a wheelchair behind the resident when ambulating, and removing the mobile bedside table from beside the bed. After a fall in which the resident was found on the floor by the room doorway with the mobile bedside table in the hallway next to him, the resident stated he had been using the table as a walker. Despite the care plan and post-fall assessment identifying removal of the mobile bedside table as an intervention, observations showed the movable bedside table still placed alongside the bed on multiple occasions, including when staff were present in the room. Staff interviews confirmed they were unaware of the current fall prevention interventions, acknowledged the table was movable, and stated it remained at the bedside to facilitate meals. The DON confirmed the table had been at the bedside and was removed only after the surveyor discussed it with staff.
Failure to complete restraint assessment before wheelchair alarm use
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to complete a restraint assessment before implementing a wheelchair alarm for Resident #18. Resident #18 was admitted with multiple diagnoses including muscle weakness, difficulty walking, repeated falls, and dementia. The care plan for impaired mobility and fall risk, dated 3/8/26, included a wheelchair alarm as an intervention. A Bed Safety and Transfer Device Evaluation dated 4/28/26 documented that the bed/chair alarm did not restrict mobility, but the record did not include an initial Restraint Evaluation dated on or around 3/8/26 to identify the comprehensive evaluation of the chair alarm. On 7/9/26, the CNO stated that a Restraint Evaluation had not been completed prior to the chair alarm being placed for Resident #18.
Inadequate Supervision During EZ Stand Transfers
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure adequate supervision and assistance for one resident during transfers with an EZ stand lift. The resident had cognitive deficits and was dependent for toileting, with diagnoses including Alzheimer's disease, dementia, fracture, and repeated falls. The care plan identified a moderate fall risk related to weakness and directed toileting with an EZ stand and 2-person assist. During observation, nursing assistants placed the harness, safety belt, straps, and loops appropriately and assisted the resident with the lift, but the resident stood only to approximately 135 degrees and never came to a full stand. On two observed transfers, staff remained by the bathroom door while the resident was given privacy, then re-entered to continue the transfer and complete care. In both observations, the resident never achieved a full standing position despite encouragement and repeated attempts. One nursing assistant stated the transfer was safe because two staff were assisting, while the RN case manager stated she expected the resident to stand straight up when transferred with the EZ stand and that staff should sit the resident back down and try again if the resident did not. The RN case manager was unaware of any concerns about the resident transferring safely with the EZ stand. Facility policy was requested but not provided.
Resident Left Unsupervised and Was Found Wandering in Parking Lot
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to recognize that a cognitively impaired resident had left the building unsupervised and was wandering in the parking lot. The resident had diagnoses including Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and anxiety disorder, and records showed she had moderately impaired cognition, walked and transferred independently, and had no documented wandering behaviors during the MDS lookback period. Although an elopement evaluation had previously concluded she was not at risk for elopement, the care plan identified confusion, impaired cognition, and lack of awareness of safety needs. On the day of the event, a family member visiting another resident saw the resident outside in the parking lot looking into car windows and walking from car to car with a jacket and pocketbook on her arm. The family member stated the resident appeared to be looking for someone and was in the middle area of the parking lot before she reported it to staff. Nurse #3 was notified and went to check on the resident, who was then brought back inside the facility. Staff interviews showed they were not actively looking for the resident and did not know she had exited the facility unsupervised until the family member reported seeing her outside. Staff accounts indicated the resident had been seen earlier in the dining room eating, but no one was aware she had left the building. Nurse #2 and NA #1 both stated they were not aware the resident was missing until the report from the family member. The administrator stated the resident exited through the front entrance doors, but it was not known whether she pushed the button behind the receptionist desk or was let out by a visitor. The previous NP stated the resident needed someone with her if she was outside the facility and could have wandered away if left alone.
Failure to Respond to Help Requests and Use Foot Pedals During Wheelchair Transport
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure a safe environment free from accident hazards for R25 when staff did not respond to her requests for help and did not provide foot pedals while propelling her wheelchair. R25 had diagnoses of parkinsonism and Alzheimer's disease, and her records documented severely impaired cognition, including a BIMS score of four on a quarterly MDS. Her care plan stated she was independent with locomotion in her manual wheelchair, but other documentation reflected a history of falls and need for staff assistance with wheelchair mobility. The care plan also lacked documentation regarding foot pedals. Nursing notes and staff interviews showed multiple instances in which R25 was pushed in her wheelchair without foot pedals. On one occasion, a CNA propelled her out of the restroom and her socked foot hit the floor when the wheelchair was pushed. On another occasion, R25 was seated in her wheelchair, holding onto the back of a recliner and calling out for help, while the CNA walked by her. The CNA later propelled R25 down the hallway without foot pedals and at one point pushed the chair and let it go. Staff interviews confirmed that residents should have foot pedals when staff are pushing them, and the CNA stated she should not push R25 without foot pedals.
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