Failure to Document and Communicate Required Discharge Information for Hospital Transfer
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to properly document and communicate a resident’s transfer and discharge information when the resident was sent to the hospital and subsequently died. The resident had diagnoses including chronic pain, end-stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis, and heart disease, and had mildly impaired cognition per a comprehensive MDS assessment. The resident’s designated family contacts were listed in order as a sister, another sister, and then a brother. On the date of the incident, a nurse documented in a progress note that the resident was found unresponsive in the room in the early morning hours, CPR was initiated, and emergency services were notified. The note indicated staff attempted to notify the resident’s brother and then sister as the resident was being transferred to the hospital, and that a follow-up call to the receiving hospital revealed the resident had passed away. However, beyond this progress note, there was no documentation in the medical record regarding the resident’s transfer to the hospital. Record review showed there was no written notice of the transfer/discharge to the resident’s representative, no discharge/transfer summary, and no documentation of required discharge information being communicated to the receiving hospital. The social worker confirmed there was no discharge summary and was unaware of any written notification to the family or documentation regarding collection of the resident’s belongings after death. The ADON also verified there was no discharge summary and no evidence of the required transfer documentation in the resident’s medical record, resulting in noncompliance with the discharge documentation and communication requirements.
Plan Of Correction
F0628 Discharge Process The PoC will what corrective action(s) will be accomplished for those residents found to have been affected by the deficient practice. Resident #56 is no longer in the facility. How will you identify other residents having the potential to be affected by the same deficient practice and what corrective action will be taken? Any of the 47 residents residing in the facility have the potential for this practice. The residents who have been recently transferred or discharged had the potential to be affected. A sweep of these residents over a month, completed by nurse managers on 3-25-26, residing in the facility, revealed that residents requiring transfer/discharge are documented in the record with proper information and have not been affected by ths practice What measures will be put into place or what systemic changes you will make to ensure that the deficient practice does not recur. All nurses and the social worker were educated by DON/designee over a period completed by 4/9/2026. Education included facility transfers or discharges of a resident; the facility must ensure that the transfer or discharge is documented in the resident's medical record and appropriate information is communicated to the receiving health care institution or provider. Notify the resident and the resident's representative(s) of the transfer or discharge, and the facility must send a copy of the notice to a representative of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. How the corrective action will be monitored to ensure the deficient practice will not recur. DON/Designee audit that each transfer/discharge is properly documented in the resident's chart daily 5x a week X 4 weeks. The information for transfer and discharge includes an e-interact transfer form and bed hold form as well as notification of reason for transfer and significant other notification etc. Results of the audit will be presented to the QAPI team weekly. Audits are done in real time, and if there is a concern, the DON/designee corrects the issue and reeducates the staff involved. Audits in place to ensure discharge forms are done with any discharge by DON/admin and follow-up if missed/re-education for the social services as needed.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Failure to Notify Ombudsman of Hospitalizations, Discharges, and Transfers: Social services did not send the required monthly notices to the LTC Ombudsman regarding resident hospitalizations, discharges, and transfers. The ombudsman reported receiving no notices for 2025 or 2026, and the administrator confirmed the notices had not been sent for over a year. The facility policy reviewed did not address the process for ombudsman notification.
The facility failed to provide written bed-hold policy notice to two residents or their representatives during hospital transfers. One resident had HTN, kidney disease, and hypokalemia, and another had hyperlipidemia, CHF, and a right femur fracture; records showed hospital transfers, but no documentation that the required bed-hold information was given at the time of transfer.
Two residents who experienced emergent hospital transfers for issues including abnormal critical labs, uncontrollable pain, and SOB with low O2 saturation were not provided with required written bed-hold policies and transfer notices. One resident had severely impaired cognition, and another was cognitively intact and later died at the hospital. Progress notes documented the transfers and that contacts or family were notified, but there was no documentation that written notices addressing bed-hold, appeal rights, or ombudsman information were given, despite facility policies requiring such written information at admission and again at or shortly after transfer. The Administrator confirmed that bed-hold notices were not sent for these residents.
Failure to Notify State LTC Ombudsman of Resident Discharge: The facility failed to send the required discharge notice to the State LTC Ombudsman for a resident who was discharged. The Ombudsman stated she never received the notification, the SW had no evidence of a report and was unaware of the monthly notification requirement, and the Administrator stated she did not know the rule. The resident had ischemic cardiomyopathy and a blank BIMS score.
A resident with respiratory failure, HTN, and anxiety became SOB and diaphoretic, received a breathing tx, and was sent by EMS to the hospital. The facility could not locate the required SNF/NF to Hospital Transfer form or other transfer records showing what information was communicated to the receiving provider.
The facility failed to provide written transfer/discharge notices for three residents who were sent to the hospital, and for one resident it also failed to provide written bed-hold policy information. In one case, an LPN said she did not notify the guardian because she was the only nurse on the unit and did not have time, and there was no evidence that the Ombudsman was notified of the transfers.
Failure to Notify Ombudsman of Hospitalizations, Discharges, and Transfers
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to notify the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman of resident hospitalizations, discharges, and transfers for calendar years 2025 and 2026. During interview, the ombudsman stated she had not received any hospitalization, discharge, or transfer notices for 2025 and none for 2026. Social services staff stated they were responsible for sending these notifications monthly and confirmed they were behind in submitting them. The administrator stated social services was responsible for the monthly notices, confirmed the notices had not been sent for over a year, and stated the ombudsman is a resource for residents if they feel they have been wrongly hospitalized, discharged, or transferred. A facility policy titled Discharge Planning dated 12/25 was reviewed and did not address the process for sending ombudsman notifications.
Failure to Notify Residents of Bed-Hold Policy During Hospital Transfers
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to notify the resident or the resident’s representative of its bed-hold policy for two hospital transfers. Facility policy stated that at the time of transfer for hospitalization or therapeutic leave, the facility would provide written notice explaining the duration of the bed-hold policy and information about the resident’s return to the next available bed, and that in an emergency transfer the notice would be provided within 24 hours. For Resident R24, who had diagnoses including high blood pressure, kidney disease, and hypokalemia, the record showed a hospital transfer on 3/31/26 and return on 4/5/26, but there was no documented evidence that written bed-hold information was provided at the time of transfer. For Closed Resident Record CR87, the record showed diagnoses including hyperlipidemia, congestive heart failure, and a right femur fracture. On 2/6/26, staff received venous doppler results indicating a nonocclusive thrombus in the right common femoral vein, relayed the results to the CRNP, and obtained orders to increase Eliquis temporarily and repeat an ultrasound. After the resident’s daughter called and staff reported the situation to the CRNP, the resident was sent to the hospital around 5:50 p.m. The emergency room transfer form and the clinical record did not include documented evidence that CR87 or the representative were provided written information about the facility’s bed-hold policy at the time of transfer.
Failure to Provide Required Bed-Hold and Transfer Notices for Hospital Transfers
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to provide required written bed-hold policies and transfer notices to two residents and/or their resident representatives when the residents were emergently transferred to the hospital. One resident had severely impaired cognition with a BIMS score of 3/15 and was transferred to the hospital due to abnormal critical lab results, then later returned to the facility. Documentation showed that the facility called the contact on file and a POA returned the call, but there was no documentation that a written transfer notice or bed-hold information was provided. The facility’s own policy required that written transfer/discharge notices include the reason for transfer, effective date, receiving location, a statement of the right to appeal, and contact information for the state LTC ombudsman and protection and advocacy agencies, as well as sending a copy to the ombudsman. A second resident, who had intact cognition with a BIMS score of 15/15, was transferred to the hospital on one occasion for uncontrollable pain and returned to the facility, and on another occasion for SOB, tremors in both arms, and oxygen saturation below 88%, after which the resident expired at the hospital. Progress notes documented the transfers and that the family was notified, but there was no documentation that written transfer notices or bed-hold policies were provided at either transfer. The facility’s bed-hold policy required that all residents or their representatives, regardless of payor source, receive written information about facility and state bed-hold policies twice: in advance of transfer (e.g., in the admission packet) and again at the time of transfer, or within 24 hours for emergency transfers. During an interview, the Administrator confirmed that bed-hold notices had not been sent for these two residents.
Failure to Notify State LTC Ombudsman of Resident Discharge
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to send a copy of Resident #8’s discharge notice to the representative of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman before the resident was discharged. Resident #8’s nursing home discharge MDS assessment dated 04/13/2026 identified him as a [AGE]-year-old male admitted to the facility on [DATE], with an active diagnosis of ischemic cardiomyopathy and a blank BIMS score. During interview, the Ombudsman stated she had never received a discharge notification from the facility and said the facility was required to submit discharge notification every time it did an involuntary discharge, transfer, or presented discharge paperwork to a resident related to discharge. The Social Worker stated she had no evidence of a report to the state Ombudsman for Resident #8’s discharge and was not aware she was supposed to send discharge notification monthly. The Administrator stated she was unaware of the rule to notify the state Ombudsman of any resident discharges. Record review of the facility’s Transfer and discharge policy stated that a copy of the notice shall be provided to the representative of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and that the Social Services Director, or designee, shall provide notice of transfer via monthly list.
Missing Hospital Transfer Documentation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure hospital transfer documentation was completed for one resident who was transferred to the hospital after complaining of not being able to breathe and appearing diaphoretic. The resident had diagnoses of respiratory failure, high blood pressure, and anxiety disorder, and was able to make needs known. A breathing treatment was provided, and the provider agreed to send the resident out for further evaluation, after which emergency transportation took the resident to the hospital. Record review found no documentation showing what information was provided or communicated to the receiving facility for the transfer. Staff stated that transfer documentation should have included a SNF/NF to Hospital Transfer form, the resident's face sheet, and the medication and treatment administration records, but they were unable to locate documentation showing these items were completed or sent for the resident's hospital transfer.
Failure to Provide Transfer/Discharge and Bed-Hold Notices
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide a written notice of transfer/discharge before facility-initiated hospital transfers for 3 of 6 sampled residents (#6, #69, and #77). Medical record review showed resident #6 was transferred to the hospital and there was no evidence that a written transfer/discharge notice was issued to the resident or resident representative. There was also no evidence that a representative of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman was notified of the transfer. The Regional Clinical Director confirmed there was no evidence the notice had been provided. Resident #69 was transferred to the hospital and the record showed no evidence that the facility issued a written transfer/discharge notice to the resident or the resident's guardian. An LPN stated she did not notify the guardian because she was the only nurse on the unit and did not have time, and she reported to the next shift that the guardian had not been notified. The guardian confirmed she had not been notified of the transfer. Resident #77 was transferred to the hospital and the record showed no evidence that the facility issued a written transfer/discharge notice or written information on the bed-hold policy to the resident or resident representative, and there was no evidence that the Ombudsman was notified of the transfer. The Regional Clinical Director confirmed there was no evidence the bed-hold and transfer/discharge notices were provided.
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