Finding Description
Based on observations and interviews, the facility failed to ensure infection prevention and control programs (IPCP) were maintained and followed to provide a safe, sanitary and comfortable environment and to help prevent the development and transmission of communicable diseases and infections on two of two units. Specifically, the facility failed to ensure staff wore the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when providing direct care for Resident #65, Resident #62 and Resident #29, who were on enhanced barrier precautions (EBP).Findings include:I. Professional referenceAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Implementation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Use in Nursing Homes to Prevent Spread of Multidrug-resistant Organisms (MDROs), retrieved on 8/25/25 from https://www.cdc.gov/long-term-care-facilities/hcp/prevent-mdro/PPE.html, It read in pertinent part,Enhanced barrier precautions (EBP) are an infection control intervention designed to reduce transmission of resistant organisms that employs targeted gown and glove use during high contact resident care activities. Nursing home residents with wounds and indwelling medical devices are at especially high risk of both acquisition of and colonization with MDROs. The use of gown and gloves for high-contact resident care activities is indicated, when contact precautions do not otherwise apply, for nursing home residents with wounds and/or indwelling medical devices regardless of MDRO colonization, as well as for residents with MDRO infection or colonization. Examples of high-contact resident care activities requiring gown and glove use for enhanced barrier precautions include dressing, bathing/showering, transferring, providing hygiene, changing linens, changing briefs or assisting with toileting, device care or use (central line, urinary catheter, feeding tube, tracheostomy/ventilator) and wound care, any skin opening requiring a dressing.I. Observations On 8/18/25 at 10:30 a.m. there was a sign on Resident #65's door that indicated the resident was on EBP. The sign on the resident's door indicated gloves and a gown must be worn for resident care activities, including dressing, bathing/showering, transferring, linen changes, providing hygiene, changing briefs or assisting with toileting and device care or use, such as central lines, urinary catheters, feeding tubes, tracheostomies and wound care.On 8/18/25 at 10:50 a.m. Resident #65, who had an indwelling urinary catheter was being assisted in the bathroom with transfer assistance and catheter care by registered nurse (RN) #1, certified nurse aide (CNA) #1 and CNA #3. RN #1 was wearing a protective gown and gloves. CNA #1 and CNA #3 were wearing gloves but were not wearing gowns.-CNA #1 and CNA #3 failed to don (put on) a protective gown prior to providing direct care for Resident #65. On 8/18/25 at 11:35 a.m. there was a sign on Resident #62's door that indicated the resident was on EBP. The sign on the resident's door indicated gloves and a gown must be worn for resident care activities, including dressing, bathing/showering, transferring, linen changes, providing hygiene, changing briefs or assisting with toileting and device care or use, such as central lines, urinary catheters, feeding tubes, tracheostomies and wound care.On 8/18/25 at 11:38 a.m. an unidentified nursing staff member and physical therapy assistant (PTA) #1 were assisting Resident #62, who had a surgical wound with staples on her left hip, with her clothing change and transfer to her wheelchair. The unidentified nursing staff member was wearing gloves but did not have a gown on. PTA #1 was not wearing a gown or gloves.-The unidentified nursing staff member failed to don a protective gown and PTA #1 failed to don gloves or a gown prior to providing direct care for Resident #62. On 8/19/25 at 9:00 a.m. there was a sign on Resident #29's door that indicated the resident was on EBP. The sign on the resident's door indicated gloves and a gown must be worn for resident care activities, including dressing, bathing/showering, transferring, linen changes, providing hygiene, changing briefs or assisting with toileting and device care or use, such as central lines, urinary catheters, feeding tubes, tracheostomies and wound care.On 8/19/25 at 9:20 a.m. CNA #2 entered Resident #29's room and retrieved his morning meal tray. While CNA #2 was retrieving the meal tray, the resident, who had wounds on his legs, a colostomy and an intravenous line (IV), requested assistance with emptying his colostomy bag. CNA #2 donned gloves and proceeded to provide colostomy care. -However, CNA #2 failed to don a gown prior to providing direct care to Resident #29. II. Staff interviewsRN #1 was interviewed on 8/18/25 at 11:00 a.m. RN #1 said Resident #65 was on EBP because he had a superficial pressure wound on his buttocks and had an indwelling foley catheter. RN #1 said all staff should have donned a protective gown in addition to wearing gloves when providing direct care for Resident #65 in the bathroom. She said the reason staff should wear a gown and glove when providing care to the resident was because his Foley catheter and his wound made him highly vulnerable to getting an infection. CNA #1 was interviewed on 8/18/25 at 11:05 a.m. CNA #1 said she was usually informed by the RNs which residents were on EBP. CNA #1 said if a resident was on EBP, the PPE should be available and hanging on the back of the resident's room door. CNA #1 said Resident #65 was on EBP because he had a Foley catheter. She said she thought she did not need to wear a protective gown when assisting him in the bathroom because she was not touching his Foley catheter and was only helping with his transfer assistance. CNA #1 said she should have worn a gown and she would remember to do so the next time she was assisting a resident who was on EBP. CNA #1 said she thought the facility provided her with education on EBP but she was not completely sure.CNA #3 was interviewed on 8/19/25 at 10:42 a.m. CNA #3 said she did not know she needed to put on PPE when she was providing direct care for Resident #65. She said she was not informed by RN #1 that she needed to wear a protective gown. She said she assumed she only needed to wear gloves.CNA #2 was interviewed on 8/19/25 at 9:25 am. CNA #2 said she would obtain a shift- report from the outgoing CNA staff regarding which residents were on transmission-based precautions. She said she would ask the nurses to see what type of PPE needed to be used for each resident. She said EBP was needed to prevent the staff from giving the resident an infection. She said she only needed to wear a protective gown when she was emptying Resident #29's colostomy bag. Licensed practical nurse (LPN) #1 was interviewed on 8/19/25 at 3:29 pm. LPN #1 said residents who were on EBP had signage on the door indicating they were on EBP, along with the type of PPE staff was required to use inside the residents' rooms. She said nurses were additionally able to obtain the same information in the residents' medical records in order to relay the information to the CNAs. LPN #1 Said Resident #62 was on EBP because she had a surgical wound on her left hip. She said all nursing staff should wear a protective gown and gloves with any close-contact activities, including clothing changes and resident transfers.The director of nursing (DON) and the infection preventionist (IP) were interviewed together on 8/21/25 at 10:30 a.m. The IP said she had worked at the facility for two years and obtained her infection prevention certification in January 2025. She said she shared the IP role responsibilities with another staff member who was currently out of the building and unavailable. She said her role as IP consisted of antibiotics stewardship, providing staff education on infection control once a month during staff meetings, providing as needed one-on-one infection control education and providing new staff hire education on infection prevention methods. The DON said all staff were provided with education on the differences between contact precaution and EBP and advised on what PPE to use during which resident care activity. She said nursing staff should wear a gown and gloves with any close contact resident care activities, such as wound care, Foley catheter care and assisting the resident in and out of bed. The DON said Resident #29 had just finished a course of antibiotics because of his medical condition related to his motor vehicle accident. She said he had an IV, a colostomy, a Foley catheter and healing wounds all over his body from the accident. She said it was very important that the staff adhered to EBP to prevent any potential infections. The DON said it was important for all staff to adhere to the designated resident-specific precaution recommendations because the facility wanted to keep the residents safe from developing preventable infections. She said the facility did not want to be the cause of any infection. She said the potential negative outcome to the facility staff of not adhering to EBP could be the resident contracting MDROs and there was a high potential of spreading the infection to another resident.