Failure to Complete Required Neuro Checks and RN Assessments After Unwitnessed Falls
Summary
The facility did not ensure that treatment and care were provided according to orders, resident preferences, goals, and professional standards of practice for unwitnessed falls. For one resident with multiple sclerosis and intact cognition, the record showed an unwitnessed fall on 4/17/26 in the bathroom. The facility documented that neuro checks were stable and within normal limits and that checks would continue every 15 minutes, every 30 minutes, and every shift, but the surveyor could not locate documentation showing that the additional neuro checks were completed. Staff interviews confirmed that neuro checks are expected after an unwitnessed fall and are documented in the EHR, but the RN reviewing the record stated that all neuro checks were not completed. A second resident with dementia, delirium, severe cognitive impairment, and dependence for transfers experienced multiple unwitnessed falls. After a fall on 3/21/26, the resident sustained a 1 cm laceration to the left eyebrow, and the investigation record described the resident rolling out of bed onto the tile floor. The surveyor found no documented RN assessment after this fall. The record also showed an unwitnessed fall on 3/26/26 with swelling above the right eye and forehead, but only one neuro check was located, and no complete set of neuro checks or RN assessment was found. Additional unwitnessed falls were documented on 4/6/26, 4/9/26, and 4/20/26. For each of these falls, the surveyor could not locate documented neuro checks in the progress notes or EHR, and facility staff confirmed that the neuro checks were not completed or not documented. The DON stated that the expectation was for initial neuro checks to be completed in a progress note and then initiated in the EHR, but the facility could not locate the required documentation for these falls. The surveyor informed the NHA and DON that neuro checks were incomplete or not completed for the resident’s falls on 3/26/26, 4/6/26, 4/9/26, and 4/20/26, and that no RN assessment was completed after the falls on 3/21/26 and 3/26/26.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Trusted data from CMS and state health departments
Every citation, penalty and Plan of Correction is sourced from public CMS records (latest release October 8, 2026) and official state health department websites — never guesswork.
In your survey window? See what surveyors are citing.
The Survey-Prep Report maps your facility's risk from 12 months of CMS and state citation data — what's being cited around you and what to check first. $129 one-time.