Failure to Maintain Privacy During Care and Assist With Personal Hygiene
Summary
The facility failed to ensure residents were treated with dignity, respect, privacy, and received necessary assistance with personal care. The deficiency involved Resident #27, who had a suprapubic catheter and a BIMS score of 5 indicating severe cognitive impairment, and Resident #47, who had a BIMS score of 15 indicating cognitive intactness. Facility policy required residents to be treated courteously and with dignity, to have personal privacy respected, and for staff to knock before entering rooms; the suprapubic catheter care policy also required the resident to be draped for privacy during the procedure. For Resident #27, an LPN was observed providing suprapubic catheter care after initially knocking and explaining the procedure. The LPN left the room to gather supplies and reentered without knocking. During the care, the resident’s bed linens were pulled down to the knees, exposing the resident from beneath the breasts to the knees, including the vaginal area, and the resident was not draped for privacy. During interviews, the LPN gave conflicting statements about whether she knocked and whether the resident had been exposed. Another LPN and the RN/Case Manager stated the vaginal area should not have been exposed, that the resident should have been draped, and that staff should knock each time they enter a resident’s room. For Resident #47, the resident stated she needed help drying beneath her breasts after a shower and requested assistance from a CNA, who told her she could not help because it was a private area. The resident remained wet beneath her breasts and later reported a constant itchy, uncomfortable rash. The CNA stated assisting residents with showering included washing and drying all body areas when needed and said she reported the rash concern to an LPN. The resident was observed to have a red, raised rash beneath her left breast, and the NP stated moisture trapped beneath the breast can cause this type of rash and that thorough drying is important to prevent skin irritation and breakdown.
Penalty
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