Unpleasant Odors and Fecal Contamination in Common and Shower Areas
Summary
The facility failed to maintain a comfortable, sanitary environment free from odors on the Men's locked dementia unit. Review of the facility policy stated that the environment was to be safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike, and that housekeeping and maintenance services were to be provided as necessary to maintain a sanitary, orderly, and comfortable environment and minimize odors by disposing of soiled linens promptly and reporting lingering odors and bathrooms needing cleaning to Housekeeping. Despite this, survey observations over multiple days found a strong, pervasive odor of stale urine throughout the unit, especially in and around the common day room where residents were seated, with the odor also present down the adjacent halls. Interviews with housekeeping and nursing staff confirmed that the urine odor was known on the unit and was associated with multiple incontinent male residents, refusals of showers, and inappropriate urination. The Housekeeping Manager stated the odor was present all day and that some chairs in the common area were only sprayed with a bioenzymatic product once a week. The DON stated that chairs should be sprayed and disinfected each time they were contaminated, but she was unaware that the chairs were being treated only weekly. Social Services reported that some of the day room chairs were fabric and could not be easily cleaned or disinfected, and that several urine-soaked chairs had already been discarded. The Administrator acknowledged that residents on the unit urinated and defecated in inappropriate places and confirmed that there were no housekeeping staff working in the evening. Surveyors also observed fecal contamination in shower rooms used for toileting residents. One shower room had feces smeared down the outside of the toilet bowl, soiled clothing on the floor, and later blood on the sink lip; another shower room had multiple streaks of feces on the floor in front of the toilet, the sink, and the shower area. The Housekeeping Manager stated she had not been aware of the condition of the rooms before surveyor intervention and said they needed to be cleaned. The Housekeeping Supervisor stated there was no set schedule for cleaning the shower rooms, which were also used for resident toileting, because housekeeping staff were assigned to other areas including administrative offices and resident rooms.
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