Scenario 1: Nursing Home Administration

Scenario 1: Nursing Home Administration

As the Nursing Home Administrator (NHA) at Shady Palms Assisted Living Community in Coral Gables, FL, you oversee staff and compliance issues, among many other duties.

After lunch on May 6th, Ruby Fenton, age 78, fell as she was leaving the bathroom of her apartment. She was assisted by CNA Matt Connor, who was helping prepare her for a nap. Following an examination, Dr. Marta Orr, the doctor on call that day, determined that Ruby’s injuries were not serious, but recommended follow-up care with a wound specialist for an abrasion on Ruby’s right foot owing to concerns about complications due to diabetes.

Facility policy dictated that family members should be contacted by staff immediately after an incident involving a patient. Matt called Ruby’s daughter Linda at her home number, and, when she did not answer, left a voicemail telling Ms. Fenton what happened and what Dr. Orr recommended. When Ms. Fenton received the message she was incensed. She contacted the facility immediately demanding to know why Matt left a voicemail instead of contacting her directly. You began investigating the situation immediately.

You learn that Matt violated Shady Palm’s privacy policies when he left a telephone message that detailed both her medical condition and treatment plan. Your investigation also indicated that Health Information Privacy & Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements regarding confidential communications were not followed, because Matt left the message at Linda’s home telephone number despited Ruby’s instructions to reach her daughter at work during business hours.

To resolve the situation, you revised policies regarding how much information could be supplied in a telephone message. Employee training communicated these new minimum information requirements and provided specific directions as to what information could be left in a message. Additionally, employees were trained to review patient registration information regarding contact directives before making calls. The new procedures were incorporated into standard staff privacy training, both as part of a refresher series and mandatory yearly compliance training.

Scenario 1 Deliverables

Based on the scenario above, your deliverables will be the following documents:

document to Linda Fenton, who complained to Florida’s Complaint Administration Unit, which handles complaints about the quality of care received in Florida’s health care facilities

document to FL Department of Elder Affairs responding to notification of the facility’s the HIPAA violation

document to nursing home staff explaining new procedures and why they are important