Failure to Update Assessment After Significant Change in Condition
Summary
The facility failed to complete a required assessment following a significant change in condition for a resident who was readmitted with multiple diagnoses, including dementia and major depressive disorder. Upon review, it was found that the resident's Minimum Data Set (MDS) did not reflect a new diagnosis of bipolar disorder, despite the presence of a physician's order for Depakote to treat this condition. The MDS Coordinator confirmed that the resident's hospital records, which should have been reviewed upon readmission, indicated treatment for bipolar disorder, and that this diagnosis should have been documented in both the Admission Record and the MDS. Further review of the resident's active orders and physician progress notes confirmed ongoing treatment for bipolar disorder, yet the diagnosis was not included in the facility's official records. The facility's policy requires that health records be current and detailed, consistent with good medical and professional practice. The omission of the bipolar disorder diagnosis in the resident's records and assessment tools represented a failure to update documentation after a significant change in the resident's condition.
Penalty
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Failure to complete a significant change MDS after hospice was discontinued for a resident with BPH. The resident was transferred to the hospital by stretcher with paramedics, later returned after treatment for hypernatremia, UTI, and aspiration pneumonia, and hospice services were confirmed discontinued. The MDS log showed no significant change assessment was completed, and an MDS nurse confirmed one should have been done after the resident returned without hospice services.
A resident with a history of acute respiratory failure, mechanical ventilation, and tracheostomy was decannulated following a physician's order, but the facility did not complete a comprehensive MDS assessment within 14 days of this significant change in condition, as confirmed by staff interview and medical record review.
Three residents with multiple chronic conditions began hospice care but did not have the required Significant Change MDS assessments completed within 14 days of hospice admission, as confirmed by the MDS nurse.
A resident experienced a major decline in cognitive and functional status after a stroke, becoming nonverbal, unable to make needs known, and fully dependent on staff for all ADLs, with all nutrition provided via tube feeding. Despite these significant changes, the facility did not complete a required significant change MDS assessment, as confirmed by staff interviews and medical record review.
A resident with multiple chronic conditions, including severe cognitive impairment and total dependence for ADLs, was admitted to hospice care. The facility did not complete the required significant change MDS assessment within the mandated 14-day period, as confirmed by the MDS Coordinator and facility records.
A facility failed to complete a Significant Change MDS assessment for a resident after starting hospice services. The resident, with multiple diagnoses including cognitive impairment, was admitted to hospice care, but the required assessment was not conducted within 14 days. The DON confirmed this oversight.
Failure to Complete Significant Change MDS After Hospice Discontinued
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to complete a significant change MDS assessment within 14 days after hospice services were discontinued for one resident. The resident was admitted on 07/19/19 and had a diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The record showed a hospice order dated 10/23/24 to admit the resident to hospice services, and a progress note dated 11/14/25 documented that the resident was transferred to the hospital via stretcher with two paramedics and hospice was aware. A later progress note dated 11/25/25 documented that the resident returned from the hospital after being admitted for hypernatremia, urinary tract infection, and aspiration pneumonia. The record also showed a hospice order dated 11/20/25 confirming hospice services were discontinued, and the MDS assessment submission log from 11/25/25 through 03/02/26 showed no significant change MDS assessment completed after hospice was discontinued. The MDS nurse confirmed that a significant change MDS assessment should have been completed after the resident returned from the hospital with no hospice services.
Failure to Complete Comprehensive Assessment After Significant Change
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to conduct a comprehensive assessment within 14 days following a significant change in condition for one resident. The resident, who had diagnoses including acute respiratory failure with hypoxia, mechanical ventilation dependence, tracheostomy, and cerebral infarction, was admitted on 08/23/24. The quarterly Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment indicated the resident had intact cognition and was dependent on staff for activities of daily living. On 07/09/25, the resident was decannulated following a physician's order, as documented by the respiratory therapist. However, a review of the medical record showed that a comprehensive MDS assessment was not completed after this significant change in the resident's status. This was confirmed by the Regional MDS Nurse during an interview.
Failure to Complete Timely Significant Change MDS Assessments After Hospice Admission
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to complete Significant Change in Minimum Data Set (MDS) status assessments within 14 days following the initiation of hospice services for three residents. Specifically, medical record reviews showed that each of the three residents, who had complex medical histories including conditions such as COPD, Alzheimer's disease, chronic respiratory failure, major depressive disorder, dementia, diabetes, and neurocognitive disorder, began hospice care but did not have the required Significant Change assessments completed within the mandated timeframe. This deficiency was confirmed during an interview with the MDS nurse, who acknowledged that the assessments were not performed as required for these residents.
Failure to Complete Significant Change MDS Assessment After Major Resident Decline
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to complete a significant change in status assessment (SCSA) as required for a resident who experienced a major decline in condition. The resident, admitted with multiple diagnoses including cerebral infarction with left hemiplegia, aphasia, ischemic cardiomyopathy, obesity, congestive heart failure, and chronic kidney disease, was discharged to the hospital and later readmitted following a stroke. Prior to the stroke, the resident was cognitively intact, able to communicate, and required only set-up assistance for eating, consuming a regular diet by mouth. After the stroke, the resident became nonverbal, unable to make needs known, developed severe cognitive impairment, and became fully dependent on staff for all activities of daily living, receiving all nutrition via gastrostomy tube feedings. Despite these significant changes in the resident's cognitive and functional status, the facility did not complete a significant change MDS assessment within the required timeframe. Staff interviews confirmed the resident's marked decline in cognition, communication, and nutritional intake following the stroke. The facility's MDS coordinator stated she did not believe the criteria for a significant change assessment were met, despite clear evidence of major declines in multiple areas of the resident's health status. This failure was identified through medical record review, staff interviews, and review of facility policy and the RAI manual.
Failure to Complete Timely Significant Change MDS Assessment After Hospice Admission
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to complete a significant change Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment within the required 14-day timeframe for a resident who was admitted to hospice care. The resident, who had a history of multiple sclerosis, cerebral infarction, and vascular dementia, was noted to have severely impaired cognition and required total assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs). Record review showed that the significant change MDS assessment was not completed in a timely manner following the hospice admission order, as confirmed by the MDS Coordinator. Facility policy required comprehensive assessments to be conducted according to the timeframes established in the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) manual.
Failure to Complete Significant Change MDS Assessment for Hospice Resident
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to complete a Significant Change Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment for Resident #42 after the initiation of hospice services. Resident #42, who had a range of diagnoses including lumbar degeneration, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, anxiety, chronic viral hepatitis C, seizures, and psychosis, was admitted to hospice care as per a physician's order. Despite this significant change in condition, there was no evidence of a Significant Change MDS assessment being completed within the required 14-day period following the start of hospice services. The annual MDS indicated cognitive impairment and did not reflect the resident's terminal status or hospice care, as required by the Long Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument 3.0 User Manual. The Director of Nursing confirmed the oversight during an interview, acknowledging that the assessment was not conducted during the resident's hospice care period.
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