Finding Description
**NOTE- TERMS IN BRACKETS HAVE BEEN EDITED TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIALITY** Based on review of the facility policy, record review, and interview, the facility failed to ensure that Resident (R)1 received appropriate supervision to prevent a successful elopement from the facility on 03/22/26.On 03/30/26 at 2:37 PM, the State Agency (SA) determined that the facility's non-compliance with one or more federal health, safety, and/or quality regulations has caused or was likely to cause serious injury, serious harm, serious impairment, or death. On 03/30/26 at 2:37 PM the survey team provided the Administrator with a copy of the CMS Immediate Jeopardy (IJ) Template, informing the facility IJ existed as of 03/22/26. The IJ was related to 42 CFR 483.25 - Free of Accident Hazards/Supervision/Devices. On 03/30/26 at 4:07 PM, the facility provided an acceptable IJ Removal Plan. The survey team validated the facility's corrective actions and determined the facility put forth due diligence in identifying and addressing the non-compliance. The SA is considering this at Past Non-Compliance as of 03/24/26. An Extended Survey was conducted in conjunction with the Complaint Survey for non-compliance at F689, constituting substandard quality of care. Findings include:Review of the facility's policy titled, Elopement revised on 11/01/2017, revealed, To safely and timely redirect patients/residents to a safe environment. A prompt investigation and search will be conducted if a patient/resident is considered missing. The facility will determine a signal code, e.g. Code [NAME] to designate a missing patient/resident . Procedures: 1. Once it has been established that a patient/resident is missing, all employees are notified immediately by paging overhead ______ (insert code name). 2. The DON/designee completes a missing resident profile . 4. The entire search process of the facility and grounds, from the time the patient/resident is missing, will be completed within (30) thirty minutes.Review of R1's Face Sheet revealed she was admitted to the facility on [DATE], with diagnoses including but not limited to, dementia, unspecified severity, muscle weakness (generalized), unsteadiness on feet, other abnormities of gait and mobility.Review R1's admission Minimum Data Set (MDS) with an Assessment Reference Date (ARD) of 10/16/25, revealed a Brief Interview for Mental Status (BIMS) score of 7 out of 15, indicating R1 suffered from severe cognitive impairment. Further review of the MDS, revealed R1 had no impairments of the upper or lower extremities, at risk for falls, and need partial/moderate assistance for sit to stand mobility, to walk 10 feet and walking 50 feet with two turns as not attempted due to medical condition or safety concerns.Review of R1's Progress Notes dated 03/24/2026 at 9:33 PM, revealed, Resident seen today for follow-up after recent elopement event. Since last evaluation, the patient remains ambulatory with good strength and endurance and continues to exhibit impaired judgment and poor safety awareness in the setting of vascular dementia. Nursing reports ongoing need for close supervision due to continued exit-seeking behaviors. No new elopement episodes reported since implementation of 1:1 supervision. The patient remains pleasantly confused at baseline and is unable to reliably provide history.Review of R1's Care Plan with a problem start date of 10/17/2025, under the category behavioral symptoms, revealed, R1 wanders through out the facility, is a risk for 1. Elopement and has had a recent elopement 2. Increased fall risk.Review of R1's Nursing- Elopement Risk Observation dated 03/20/26, indicated, Does the patient/resident have safe decision-making capabilities? This question is answered as No.Review of R1's PATIENT/RESIDENT INCIDENT/ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION WORKSHEET revealed under NOTIFICATIONS AND TREATMENTS: Transferred to Hospital or emergency room by police. DESCRIBE EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED: Elopement from facility. Please see timeline/summary.Timeline/Summary of events/incident:5:30-5:40pm: Resident observed by staff in safe environment at ambulating in facility which is baseline in behavior.5:40-6:00pm: Alarm sounded at fire exit near dietary department. re-engaged alarm and returned to kitchen.5:50-6:05pm: [R1's] CNA noticed he wasn't in his room to receive his dinner tray and started to look for him. Census head count initiated.6:08-6:39pm: Employee that was leaving work in his car thought he saw the resident near the Dollar General store. The staff member called the workplace and informed staff he thought he saw [R1]. Staff in facility started a search for the resident.A nurse went to Dollar General in her car to retrieve the resident but he was not at the store when she arrived.Dollar General apparently notified police.Police called facility and validated we were missing a resident. They noted him walking on the corner of [NAME] and Mills. Police stated they would take the resident to the Emergency Department to be checked out.During this process the Administrator and DON (Director of Nursing) were informed.Census headcount completed with all residents except for [R1] account for.6:39pm: Administrator notified Clinical Services Director of incident.6:39pm: Administrator notified Clinical Services Director of incident.6:42pm: SVP notified of incident by CSD.1:1 education completed with identified dietary employee.Re-education started for staff in the facility.Review of the local police department incident report with a dispatched date of 03/22/2026, revealed the following:INCIDENT TYPE. 1. 901 - RUNAWAYDISP DATE: 03/22/2026 DISP. TIME 1821 TIME ARRIVED 1825DATE/TIME OF OFFENSE 03/22/2026. 1821Offenses: RUNAWAYON 03/22/2026, OFFICERS WERE DISPATCHED OUT IN REFERENCE TO LOCATE A SUSPICIOUS PERSON WALKING WITH A HOSPITAL BRACELET ON. OFFICERS CONDUCTED AN AREA SEARCH AND LOCATED THE SUBJECT ON FR [NAME]/ MILL ST. THE SUBJECT APPEA [sic] TO BE IN A DELIRIOUS STATE, DISORIENTED, AND UNABLE TO PROVIDE COHERENT RESPONSES. DUE TO THE SUBJECT'S CONDITIO [sic] EMS WAS REQUESTED TO THE SCENE. EMS ARRIVED AND ASSESSED THE SUBJECT. BASED ON THEIR EVALUATION, THE SUBJECT V [sic] TRANSPORTED TO MUSC ORANGEBURG HOSPITAL FOR FURTHER MEDICAL TREATMENT. DISPATCH WAS CONTACTED BY HOSPITAL PERSONNEL FOR CONFIRMATION OF RESIDENCY. OFFICERS WERE DISPATCHED TO 601 [NAME] ST ([NAME] CONVALESCENT CENTER) TO CONFIRM IF THEY HOUSED A PATIENT BY THE NAME OF [R1]. ONCE CONFIRMED THE FACILITY WAS INFORMED TO CONTACT HOSPITAL PERSONNEL. NO FURTHER INCIDENTS WERE REPORTED AT THIS TIME.During an interview on 03/30/26 at 9:25 AM, R1 revealed that he did not recall exiting the building.During an interview on 03/30/26 at 9:25 AM, Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)1 revealed that she was assigned for 1:1 care for the resident for the day. CNA1 states that this was her first day working with the resident in this capacity, however she could not confirm how long the resident had been on 1:1 care.During a follow up interview on 03/30/26 at 10:05 AM, CNA1 explained that R1 was on 1:1 care because he had got out of the building.During an interview on 03/30/26 at 10:10 AM, CNA2 revealed that she completed her orientation with the facility on March 17, 2026. CNA2 stated that she had not received any in-service training related to elopements and today was her first time hearing about R1 exiting the building.During an interview on 03/30/26 at 11:15 AM, the [NAME] stated that on the day of the incident, between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM, the dietary staff heard the alarm of the dining room door going off. Dietary Aide (DA)1 was sent to check the alarm and reported that he looked and did not see anyone. He then shut the alarm off and returned to the kitchen. The [NAME] stated that staff were unaware how long the alarm had been going off before they heard it, as it is difficult to hear in the kitchen.During an interview on 03/30/26 at 11:52 AM, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)1 stated that R1 was on thirty-minute checks due to prior wandering behaviors. She reported that R1 was in bed most of the day until about 5:00 PM, when a Certified Nursing Assistant took him to get a shower. Around 5:25 PM-5:30 PM, she last had eyes on R1 and assumed he was doing his usual laps around the facility. LPN1 further stated that around 5:45 PM, after staff noticed that R1 had not received his dinner tray and had not been seen in the halls, a search was initiated and all areas of the building were checked. Shortly after, someone called the facility to report that they thought they had seen R1 down the street at the Dollar General. She then left the facility in her car to go locate R1 but did not see him, and within 10 minutes of her arrival back at the facility, staff were notified that R1 had been picked up by the local police department near the initial sighting at Dollar General and was subsequently taken to the emergency room. LPN1 was unable to state how R1 eloped from the building but noted he was found with his wander guard still in place.During an interview on 03/30/26 at 12:09 PM, the Facility Administrator (FA) stated that on the day of the incident, the alarm to the dining room door was going off. Staff responded, did not see anyone, disarmed the alarm, and returned to work. The FA stated that between 5:50 PM and 5:55 PM, staff noticed R1 was missing and went to look for him. R1 was not located in his room or hallway. Around 6:10 PM-6:15 PM, while heading home, a staff member reported that they thought they saw R1 around Dollar General. LPN1 then left the facility in her car to go locate R1; however, when she arrived at Dollar General, R1 was not there. R1 was later located by the local police department and sent to the emergency room for evaluation. The FA reported that R1 was wearing his wander guard when he was found.During an interview on 03/30/26 at 12:29 PM, the Director of Nursing (DON) stated that she was not working the day R1 eloped. She noted that LPN1 called and informed her that she was headed to Dollar General to locate R1, after someone called to report seeing him there. While still on the phone, LPN1 stated that R1 was not there. The DON then instructed LPN1 to return to the facility. She reported that R1 may have exited through the dining room door, which alarms if pushed and opens after 15 seconds. She stated that staff were unable to tell how long the alarm was going off before hearing it. When they responded, they looked outside, did not see anything, and entered the code to shut the alarm off. The DON stated that R1 was last seen between 5:15 PM and 5:30 PM. In the weeks leading up to the incident, R1 had to be redirected and displayed wandering behaviors. She noted that all doors were checked and were working without issue. The resident was later found by the local police department.During an interview on 03/30/26 at 12:43 PM, DA1 reported that R1 was last seen around 5:25 PM - 5:30 PM. They later learned from nursing staff that R1 was missing and noted that Dollar General is about a 3.5 minute drive away from the facility.During an observation and interview on 03/30/26 at 1:23 PM, the Maintenance Director and the FA, they stated that all doors in the facility were working properly and sounded alarms. The Maintenance Director noted that when a door is opened, it sounds immediately, and a panel at each nurse station lights up showing which door is open. Then, after 15 seconds, the door will open. He demonstrated on the front door and dining room door, holding each door for 15 seconds, and the alarm sounded. The alarm was heard at the nurse stations, and the panel lit up showing the corresponding door. Multiple staff noted the alarm sounding in the halls with no response. The FA stated that staff are to respond to the alarm until the all clear is given.On 03/30/26 at 4:07 PM, the facility provided an acceptable IJ Removal Plan, which included the following:Resident #1 evaluated at emergency room on 3/22/26. No injuries indicated. Resident #1 returned on 3/22/26 and 1:1 supervision initiated and continues.Each Exit door was assessed to validate doors were working properly on 3/23/26 by the Maintenance Staff.Upon Resident return, Elopement Risk Assessment Updated to reflect current status by Licensed Nurse. Care Plan and resident profile updated on 3/22/26 by Licensed Nurse.An elopement drill was completed on 3/23/26 that included:The Administrator will notify the Charge Nurse, Director of Nursing and Social Service Designee that a resident is missing. The Director of Nursing/designee will announce Code [NAME] to signal the Elopement Drill ProcedureThe Director of Nursing/designee will organize an immediate and thorough search of the center and surrounding grounds. The entire search process will be completed within 30 minutesIf the search fails to locate the missing resident in the allotted time, the Administrator/designee will place a mock telephone call to the appropriate community agencies, resident's legal representative and attending physician. Staff will provide the mock police with all the physical identifying informationThe Search will continue if resident not located to include 2 staff members searching the surrounding streets by care for a 2 mile radiusWhen the volunteer resident is located the Charge Nurse will complete a head to toe assessment. The Social Services Designee will assess the resident for emotional distress.The Director of Nursing will notify the appropriate community agencies, attending physician and the resident's legal representative.The facility's Quality Assurance Committee will investigate the incident and implement interventions to prevent reoccurrencesWhen the missing resident is found, an announcement will be made, Code [NAME] all clear.Residents residing in the facility had an Elopement Risk Assessments updated by 3/24/26 by Director of Nursing/Designee. Residents identified as elopement risk were placed in the elopement binder and had care plans and profiles updated by Director of Nursing/Designee on 3/24/26Facility Staff were reeducated by the Director of Nursing/Designee on Elopement Policy, including immediate staff response to the door alarm to verify if resident exited facility, and Abuse, Neglect & Misappropriation Policy by 3/24/26Any staff not receiving this education by 3/24/26 will receive prior to their next scheduled shift.New admission elopement risk assessments are being reviewed in Clinical Morning Meeting Monday - Friday by the Director of Nursing/Designee to validate accuracy and interventions validated if indicated. Quarterly Elopement risk assessments will be reviewed weekly following the MDS schedule to validate accuracy and interventions validated if indicated by the Director of Nursing/Designee.The Maintenance Director/Designee will inspect facility exit doors 3 times weekly for 4 weeks, then weekly for 2 additional months to validate doors are functioning properly.The Administrator will round weekly for 4 weeks then monthly for 2 additional months with the maintenance director validating doors are functioning properly.Ad Hoc QACPI was held on 3/25/26Medical Director was notified of the incident and plan on 3/23/26 and 3/30/26Results of these audits will be presented in the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Committee meeting for review and recommendations for 3 months.AOC date: 3/24/26