complaint·September 7, 2023

Page 1 Insufficient number of staff endangering residents’ safety. It was reported that the facility had cut back on staffing which left 1 staff to care for more than 20 residents including residents who require a 2 person assist. The facility is licensed for a capacity of 88 residents and had a census of 35 residents on the day that the complaint was opened. LPA reviewed staffing schedules for the months of June 18 through July 29, 2023 and the staff schedules showed that 1 Med Tech and 1 care staff were scheduled on duty for each shift on both the assisted living and memory care sections of the building. LPA reviewed 5 resident care plans and 4 of 5 of the residents reviewed required 2 person assistance with activities of daily living as needed. LPA reviewed incident reports for falls that were submitted by the facility for the months of March 2023 through August 2023. There was not a significant increase in reported falls during that time period. LPA interviewed different staff 2 months apart. In June 2023 staff stated between 1 and 5 residents were a 2 person assist, 2 months later staff stated there were between 6 to 10 residents who required a 2 person assist. 5 of 6 staff stated there is 1 Med Tech and 1 care giver on each side of the facility (assisted living and memory care). 6 of 6 staff stated the facility has cut back on staff hours. 2 of 6 staff stated the facility cut back on staff hours by increasing the lunch breaks and changing the shift start time by 15 minutes later than previous. 5 of 6 staff stated they do not think there are enough staff on each shift to ensure the safety of the residents. 5 of 6 staff stated they do not think there are enough staff on each shift to provide the necessary care for the residents. No staff provided specific examples of resident care being adversely affected or residents being endangered as a result of the staffing levels. Continued on LIC9099-C Page 2 In June 2023 the administrator stated the facility was on a low census plan. When the new administration started the facility was 3 employees over per their budget. At that time there were 10 employees on workman’s comp, or personal injury that the facility was scheduling, but these employees were very limited as to the job duties they could perform. At the time of the interview the facility had 12 residents in the memory care unit and were staffing 1 med tech, 1 to 2 care staff, and the director in that unit. The facility had 22 residents in the assisted living section of the facility and were staffing 1 med tech and 2 PCA’s to accommodate residents who required 2 person lifts. In addition, the resident services director was on the floor. The med tech was also serving as care staff due to low census. At that time the facility stopped accommodating the extra staff because they were very limited to the job duties they could perform due to injuries. It was determined that the new administration did reduce the staffing levels due to low resident census. There has not been a substantial increase in falls at the facility from March 2023 to present which could be an indicator of insufficient staffing and thus indicate that residents are at a higher risk of injury. This allegation is unsubstantiated. Although the allegation may have happened or is valid, there is not a preponderance of evidence to prove that the alleged violation occurred, and the findings are UNSUBSTANTIATED. An exit interview was conducted. A copy of the report was provided to Executive Director Sonya Gonzalez.