Incomplete post-fall assessment and order transcription
Summary
The facility failed to provide care according to orders, resident preferences, and goals when a resident with dementia, unsteadiness on feet, repeated falls, and hypertension experienced multiple falls and the post-fall assessments were not fully documented. Facility policy required injury evaluation before moving the resident, neurological evaluation as applicable, notification of the physician and others, and documentation in the medical record with post-fall evaluations for 72 hours. The record showed that after the falls, staff documented some assessments and notifications, but did not document initiation or continuation of neurological checks after the falls, and did not document the required ongoing monitoring for 72 hours. The resident’s record showed several fall-related events in which staff noted pain, confusion, and changes in mobility, including inability to bear weight, but the documentation did not consistently include full follow-up assessments such as neurological checks, range of motion, or deformity checks. In one instance, staff documented a slight protrusion on the forehead and pain in the left knee; in another, staff documented a bump on the forehead, confusion, and inability to acknowledge the fall or location; in another, staff documented a bump on the forehead and inability to bear weight on the left leg. The medical record also showed that staff did not document continued monitoring after the falls, including neurochecks. The facility also failed to provide all assessed information to the physician and failed to transcribe physician orders after the falls. An SBAR communication form documented that the resident fell and had pain, but did not include fall evaluation details, neurological checks, or inability to bear weight. The physician ordered blood tests, an x-ray, and medication changes, but the Physician Order Sheet did not show the x-ray and blood test orders transcribed. A later physician order for an x-ray was also not transcribed. Staff interviews confirmed that after a fall, the expectation was to assess neurological status, obtain vital signs, notify the physician and family, document for 72 hours, and transcribe new orders, but these steps were not fully reflected in the resident’s record.
Penalty
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