Unsanitary bedside equipment, disordered food storage, and mishandled resident property
Summary
The facility failed to provide a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment by allowing resident bedside care equipment and personal areas to remain unsanitary and disordered. Resident #17, who was admitted with schizoaffective disorder, peripheral vascular disease, and dementia and was documented as communicative and cognitively intact, was observed with a bedside commode that was visibly soiled with urine and stool smears. On a later observation, the commode bucket was improperly placed and crooked on its frame, with urine in the bottom and stool smeared on the interior side. The resident stated they could not walk to the bathroom and had to slide to the commode, and said staff sometimes took up to an hour to respond and that it got smelly. Staff interviews confirmed commodes were supposed to be emptied, wiped down, and sanitized after every use, and the DON acknowledged dirty commodes were an infection control and homelike environment concern. Resident #25, who had diastolic heart failure, stage 4 chronic kidney disease, and bipolar disorder with psychotic features and was documented as communicative and cognitively intact, had multiple covered, unlabeled containers and an open bottle of unlabeled orange juice with separated, decomposing fluid left on the bedside table over several consecutive days alongside old food remnants. The resident stated family brought outside food and they relied on housekeeping to clear dirty dishes. The Director of Housekeeping stated staff were expected to dispose of old food daily and confirmed they were only notified of the decaying items after several days, at which point a deep cleaning was needed. The same resident also had a clearly labeled bottle of Dove Men’s Body Wash missing from the room and later found on another resident’s over-the-bed table elsewhere in the facility. Resident #26, who had COPD, heart failure, and restless leg syndrome and was documented as cognitively intact and communicative, reported that laundry went missing frequently and that four items, including an oversized sweater, were missing, requiring the resident to buy a replacement out of pocket. Facility records showed a property drop-off form for a red rose button-down sweater cardigan, but no misappropriation or missing items forms were completed for the missing clothing. The resident reported the missing items to housekeeping, but the Director of Housekeeping acknowledged the missing sweater had been reported and that no follow-up was done, and also stated items were only replaced if there was a paper trail. Staff interviews showed some were unaware of the missing-items form process, while the Administrator stated anyone could accept a grievance or misappropriation form and that a seven-day investigation turnaround was expected.
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