Missing Resident Belongings Not Safeguarded at Discharge
Summary
The facility failed to safeguard and protect a resident’s personal belongings from admission to discharge. One resident, who had cerebral palsy and a BIMS score of 7 indicating severe cognitive impairment, was discharged on 4/23/26, but her personal belongings were not fully returned at that time. The record showed that her wheelchair with footrest was not checked as received by the ICFADM on the handwritten inventory list dated 4/23/26. During interviews, the DON stated social services was responsible for grievances related to missing personal belongings when a search of the facility was not successful. SSD 1 stated she remembered giving the resident’s gray storage bin containing personal belongings to a female individual, but she could not recall the person’s name or the date, and she did not document or check the resident’s inventory list before handing it over. SSD 1 also stated she received a call that items were missing, told the caller the facility would look for the belongings, and acknowledged that no grievance was filed. SSD 3 stated he was responsible for theft and loss of resident property, that missing items should be searched for the day they are reported, and that if items were not found he would review the inventory record and submit a missing item form to the ADM for replacement or reimbursement. He stated he did not receive a report about the resident’s missing belongings. The ADM stated he was not aware that items were missing from the resident’s belongings and said the facility’s process was to search first and then replace or reimburse missing items immediately if they could not be found. The ICFADM stated she picked up the resident’s belongings on discharge and again later when two bags were found, but there were still remaining items missing. ADON 3 stated she made an inventory list of the belongings found later, did not compare it with the earlier inventory list, and was not sure all belongings were accounted for. The facility’s own policy and in-service materials stated that belongings should be reconciled with the inventory list and that missing items should be handled through SSD follow-up.
Penalty
Resources
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