Complaint Investigation Report

Regarding: Staff does not provide adequate bathroom facilities for resident in care.

It is alleged that resident is being “blocked” from accessing the bathroom in their room due to other resident frequently being in the bathroom and that there are no additional bathrooms for resident to use. It is also alleged that resident has to urinate in a jar and in the trashcan due to not having access to the bathroom.

Staff deny the allegation. Interviews with (4) out of (4) staff indicated that residents do not block residents from accessing their bathrooms. Staff indicated that the facility has additional bathrooms for residents to use in case the bathroom in their room is busy. The facility has three extra gender-neutral bathrooms located on the first-floor hallway by the patio, at the end of the hallway (north) on the second floor and in the staff office. Staff stated that the extra bathrooms are accessible to residents upon request. Staff keep the extra bathrooms locked to ensure safety; however, keys are always available for staff to open the bathrooms when residents need to use them. Interviews with (6) out of (7) residents revealed that they have no issues with the accessibility to their bathroom. Residents also stated that the hallway bathrooms are available if they need to use them. During tour of the facility, LPA observed two hallway bathrooms with general access and an additional bathroom in the main office of the facility. Interviews and observations could not corroborate the allegation that staff does not provide adequate bathroom facilities for residents in care.

Although the allegation may have happened or is valid, there is no preponderance of evidence to prove the alleged violation did or did not occur, therefore the allegation is unsubstantiated . An exit interview was conducted with Ruby Garcia, and a copy of this report was provided.