Linen shortages affected resident comfort and timely linen availability
Summary
The facility failed to ensure a safe, comfortable, and homelike environment for residents with concerns about linen shortages. Resident Council minutes documented ongoing complaints over several months, including linen shortages, a need for more towels, and towel and linen shortages over the weekend, and the minutes did not reflect that these concerns were resolved. Three alert residents told the surveyor they had been complaining to staff about the shortage and said staff were unable to provide towels and change bed linens in a timely manner, with one resident stating the problem was worse on weekends. During the survey, laundry staff could not explain the linen PAR and referred the surveyor to the Housekeeping Director. The Housekeeping Director stated the facility did not have a linen inventory and did not have linen storage, and said, "I can tell you, what we had, we washed them and sent them to the unit." The facility was licensed for 250 beds and had a census of 145, but the Housekeeping Director could not provide the amount of linen sent to the floors on each shift. The Licensed Nursing Home Administrator stated he had completed a baseline inventory on 1/5/26 and was aware of the linen shortage. The inventory showed limited quantities of pads, gowns, sheets, blankets, pillowcases, washcloths, and towels, with some items in storage. The LNHA could not show the amount of linen the facility had in house or what was needed to satisfy the linen PAR based on the licensed beds or current census. The facility also could not provide the date received or location of linen ordered through invoices for towels and flat sheets. CNAs reported that linen was often not enough, that they changed bed linens every other day or when soiled, and that weekends were a "nightmare," with staff sometimes going to other floors for sheets and towels or asking residents to wait until laundry could provide more linen.
Penalty
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