P5520

Inadequate Nurse Aide Staffing Levels

Green Ridge Care CenterScranton, Pennsylvania Survey Completed on 01-14-2025

Summary

The facility failed to meet the required nurse aide to resident ratios across multiple shifts, as evidenced by a review of staffing records and staff interviews. Specifically, the facility did not provide the minimum number of nurse aides needed for the day, evening, and night shifts on 14 out of 21 reviewed shifts. For instance, on January 7, 2025, the day shift had 8.00 nurse aides instead of the required 8.90 for a census of 89 residents, and the night shift had 4.69 nurse aides instead of the required 5.93. Similar deficiencies were noted on subsequent days, with the facility consistently falling short of the required staffing levels. The report highlights specific instances where the facility's staffing levels were inadequate, such as on January 10, 2025, when the day shift had 7.77 nurse aides instead of the required 9.00 for a census of 90 residents. Additionally, on the same day, the night shift had only 4.30 nurse aides, falling short of the required 6.00. The facility did not have additional higher-level staff available to compensate for these deficiencies, indicating a systemic issue in maintaining adequate staffing levels to meet regulatory requirements.

Plan Of Correction

Preparation and/or execution of this plan of correction does not constitute admission or agreement by the provider of the truth of the facts alleged or conclusions set forth in the statement of deficiencies. The plan of correction is prepared and/or executed solely because it is required by the provisions of federal and state law. This statement applies to all observations listed below. The facility is unable to retroactively correct the cited issue. Staffing meetings will be held 5 days a week with the scheduler, Director of Nursing and Nursing Home Administrator, to review the current day CNA staffing ratios and upcoming days of the week and following week to ensure appropriate staffing levels for CNA staffing ratios for each shift. The facility is focusing on retention of existing nurse aides and recruitment of new nurse aides through the efforts of the Human Resources manager and the Administrator working on facility recruitment and retention plan to maintain required state ratios. If the projected staffing ratios do not meet minimum, then the facility will reach out to current staff and staffing agency using as needed bonuses to enlist staff or agency staff to meet the minimum requirement. The facility will continue to recruit staff through all platforms. Daily audits of the schedules will be conducted for 7 days and weekly for 2 weeks. The results will be reviewed at Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement meetings until substantial compliance of the state ratio can be met through the hiring and retention plan over the next 90 days.

Penalty

No penalty information released
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The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
See other P5520 citations
Failure to Meet Minimum NA-to-Resident Ratio on a Day Shift
P5520
Short Summary

The facility did not meet required NA staffing ratios on one reviewed day shift. Review of nursing schedules over a multi-week period showed that on a specific day shift, the number of NAs scheduled did not meet the mandated minimum of one NA per ten residents. During a subsequent interview, the DON confirmed that the facility failed to comply with the required NA-to-resident ratio for that shift.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Minimum Night Shift Nurse Aide Staffing Ratios
P5520
Short Summary

Facility administrative staff did not consistently meet required minimum nurse aide staffing ratios on the night shift, as shown by a review of nursing schedules and census data over a multi-week period. On multiple nights, the total nurse aide hours provided were below the calculated hours needed to maintain at least one nurse aide per 15 residents, resulting in several shifts where required coverage was not achieved. The Nursing Home Administrator acknowledged that the facility failed to provide the mandated minimum nurse aide staffing on these night shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Meet Minimum Nurse Aide Staffing Ratios Across Multiple Shifts
P5520
Short Summary

The facility did not meet required minimum NA staffing ratios on multiple day, evening, and night shifts during a reviewed period. Staffing records showed that, with a census of approximately 58–59 residents, actual NA hours on several day and evening shifts, and one night shift, were below the hours needed to achieve mandated ratios of 1 NA per 10 residents on days, 1 NA per 11 residents on evenings, and 1 NA per 15 residents overnight. The DON confirmed that the required number of NAs was not provided on the identified shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Minimum Nurse Aide Day-Shift Staffing Ratios
P5520
Short Summary

Surveyors found that on two reviewed days, the facility did not provide the required minimum number of nurse aides on the day shift relative to the number of residents. Staffing records showed that the nurse aide-to-resident ratio fell below the mandated standard, and the NHA acknowledged that the required nurse aide staffing ratios were not met on those days.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Required NA-to-Resident Staffing Ratios Across Multiple Shifts
P5520
Short Summary

Surveyors found that the facility repeatedly failed to meet required NA-to-resident staffing ratios on multiple day, evening, and night shifts. Review of census and staffing schedules showed that the number of NAs scheduled and providing care was consistently below the minimum required based on the number of residents, with shortfalls documented on numerous shifts across several weeks. There were no additional higher-level staff available to offset these NA shortages, and the Administrator confirmed that the required staffing ratios were not met on the identified shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Maintain Minimum Nurse Aide Staffing Ratios
P5520
Short Summary

The facility did not maintain the required NA-to-resident staffing ratios on multiple reviewed shifts, as shown by weekly staffing records and staff interviews. For a census of 28 residents, the facility was required to staff specific minimum NA levels on day and evening shifts but instead scheduled fewer NAs than mandated, and no additional higher-level staff were present to offset the shortfall. The NHA acknowledged that the required NA-to-resident ratios were not met on the identified shifts.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
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