Complaint·May 31, 2023

According to the maintenance director, he/she was made aware of the broken window since December 2022. In addition, the maintenance director stated that a window company came to the facility a few months ago to assess the window and determined that it needed to be replaced and provided a quote for the replacement. Furthermore, the maintenance director stated that the quote was submitted to the corporate office for approval. The administrator acknowledged that R1's window has been broken for a long time and the facility is in process of getting it replaced. The administrator stated that the responsible party was offered to have R1 move into another room while waiting for the replacement. Based on the documentation provided by the facility, on January 1, 2022, the responsible party informed the administrator in writing that R1's window has been broken for 10 months, this safety concern has been reported to facility staff but it was not addressed. A year later on Jan 18, 2023, the window was still not fixed and/or replaced. The responsible party requested the facility to fix it immediately or move R1 to another room and subsequently, R1 was offered to move to another available room. During the initial complaint visit on 5/3/2023, LPA observed R1's window was not fixed and there were towels by the window seal to keep it open. After the investigation, this allegation is deemed to be substantiated as R1's window has been broken since 2021 and it was reported to facility staff and directors. R1 was offered another room, however, it was done a year later requested by the responsible party. Regarding to allegation of- facility radiator heater is leaking, the reporting party stated that the facility was made aware by the reporting party and the responsible party that the radiator in R1's room has been leaking but nothing was done. As part of the investigation, LPA interviewed maintenance director and reviewed written communication correspondences. During the initial complaint visit on 5/3/2023, LPA observed paper towels placed underneath the heater radiator due to leaks. The maintenance director acknowledged that the radiator has been leaking and the paper towel is placed to keep that area dry. After the investigation, this allegation is substantiated. Regarding to allegation of- facility placed a hazardous item next to resident's bed, the reporting party stated that facility provided a space heater in place of radiator for heat and it is placed next to R1's bed which could be a safety hazard. As part of the investigation, LPA reviewed the Comfort Zone Compact Heater manufacture instruction for the space heater and interviewed the maintenance director. According to the Comfort Zone Compact Heater instructions, one of the warning: fire hazard is do not use near combustible materials; keep combustible materials such as furniture, pillows bedding, papers, clothes and curtain at least 3 feet (0.9) from the front of the heater. However, during the initial complaint visit on 5/3/2023, LPA observed the Comfort Zone space heater was placed on top of a night stand that was next to R1's bed with a small gap in between the night stand and the bed. In addition, the maintenance director stated the space heater was placed in R1's room to provide heat as the radiator was broken and the maintenance director acknowledged that it was placed too close to R1's which could be a safety hazard. After the investigation, this allegation is deemed to be substantiated. Based on interviews, observations and record reviews during the investigation, the preponderance of evidence standard has been met. Therefore, this allegations were determined to be substantiated. Deficiencies of the California Code of Regulations, Title, 22 cited on the LIC9099-D. Failure to correct the deficiencies may result in civil penalties. Report was discussed with Administrator, and Appeal Rights provided.