Penalty

No penalty information released

The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.

Summary

Staff failed to follow proper infection control procedures in several instances. A certified nurse aide was observed carrying unbagged soiled linens in the hallway after leaving a resident's room, despite facility policy requiring contaminated laundry to be bagged at the point of use. The aide confirmed awareness of the correct procedure but did not follow it. Additionally, a licensed practical nurse was observed providing care to a resident with a gastrostomy tube and did not change gloves between removing a soiled dressing and applying a clean treatment. The nurse also did not clean the area around the g-tube site, contrary to facility policy, and confirmed these actions during an interview. Another deficiency was noted during a blood glucose test, where the same nurse cleaned a glucometer with an alcohol swab instead of the facility-approved germicidal wipes. The nurse stated this was her usual practice, although facility policy specifies the use of Clorox Germicidal Wipes or Super Sani-Cloth Germicidal Disposable Wipes. These lapses in infection control practices had the potential to affect all 56 residents in the facility.