Spring Arbor of Steele Creek

The facility failed to maintain door alarms on the Special Care Unit (SCU) exit doors in safe working condition. Specifically, several door alarms were found to be inoperable, chirping due to low batteries, or obstructed by plastic covers and zip ties. This failure contributed to an incident where two residents eloped from the facility.

The facility failed to maintain the building and fire safety equipment in a safe and operating condition. Specifically, door alarms on the Special Care Unit (SCU) exit doors were not properly maintained, including inoperable batteries and unmonitored manual override switches. This failure contributed to an incident where two residents eloped from the facility.

The facility failed to ensure physician orders were implemented for two residents, specifically regarding monitoring blood pressures and finger stick blood sugars twice daily. For one resident, the failure to record required blood pressure readings was noted during a period where the resident experienced significantly elevated blood pressure and required emergency department treatment.

The facility failed to ensure that 3 of 6 sampled medication aides completed a medication administration clinical skills validation prior to administering resident medications. Specifically, at least one staff member had only received a virtual orientation and had not undergone in-facility clinical skills validation.

The facility failed to maintain a North Carolina Division of Environmental Health approved sanitation classification of 85 or above. An inspection on 08/23/23 revealed a kitchen sanitation score of 81.5. Specific issues included improper food storage, lack of trained staff, and risks of cross-contamination from raw meats.

The facility failed to maintain a North Carolina Division of Environmental Health sanitation score of 85 or above. An inspection on 08/23/23 revealed a kitchen sanitation score of 81.5, with issues including inadequate supervision, poor hygienic practices, and improper food handling.

The facility failed to respond immediately to an incident involving a resident who was locked in her room for approximately six hours because staff could not access the room with a key. As a result, the resident's care needs were neglected, and the resident was later found unresponsive and deceased.

The facility failed to call emergency medical services (EMS) for a resident when they discovered the resident was unresponsive. Due to a door lock issue, staff were unable to enter the resident's room for six hours, resulting in a failure to provide necessary care and intervention during an incident.