Failure to Maintain Hospital Transfer Agreement
Summary
The facility failed to obtain and maintain a transfer agreement with at least one local hospital certified by Medicare or Medicaid, as required. During a review of administrative documents, surveyors were unable to locate a current transfer agreement with any local hospitals. The Administrator confirmed during an interview that she could not find the agreement and was searching for it. Further, in a follow-up phone interview, the Administrator stated that she had reached out to local hospitals to obtain a transfer agreement but had not yet received a response. This deficiency was identified during an extended survey and was evident in the review of the facility's transfer agreement documentation.
Penalty
Resources
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The facility did not have transfer agreements with hospitals certified by Medicare or Medicaid, potentially affecting all 99 residents. The facility only had agreements to transfer residents to sister facilities in emergencies. Interviews confirmed that a written transfer agreement was not executed until late August, indicating a failure to ensure timely hospital transfers for residents.
The facility failed to have an updated and signed transfer agreement in place to accommodate residents in the event of an emergency. This affected 10 ventilator-dependent residents and had the potential to affect all 86 residents residing in the facility. The transfer agreement was last updated in July 2020 and was not signed by the local hospital listed in the agreement.
Lack of Transfer Agreements with Hospitals
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that transfer agreements with hospitals certified by Medicare or Medicaid were in place, which had the potential to affect all 99 residents residing in the facility. A review of the facility's 2024 Tabletop Disaster Drill document revealed that the facility had agreements to transfer residents to two sister facilities in the event of an emergency. However, it was confirmed through interviews with the Director of Nursing and the Administrator that a written transfer agreement was not executed until August 26, 2024. Prior to this date, the facility did not have a transfer agreement in place, which was a requirement to ensure residents could be moved quickly to a hospital when they needed medical care.
Lack of Updated and Signed Transfer Agreement
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to have an updated and signed transfer agreement in place to accommodate residents in the event of an emergency. This deficiency affected 10 ventilator-dependent residents and had the potential to affect all 86 residents residing in the facility. The facility utilized mechanical Ventilation, Oxygen, Cough, Suction, and Nebulizer (VOCSN) therapies with a total of up to 22 hours of battery backup per ventilator. During a document review, it was found that the transfer agreement was last updated in July 2020 and was not signed by the local hospital listed in the agreement. The Administrator confirmed the outdated and unsigned status of the transfer agreement during the review.
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