Question
Are there any repercussions if the Restorative Nursing Program does not get done due to lack of staff?
Answer
Unfortunately yes, I have seen many times where facilities have been slapped by the State Surveyors because the Restorative Nursing Program was not being followed. If the facility wrote a doctor's order for the program (again that is not required so not everybody does it) then they could possibly face issues with the fact that the staff is not following physician's orders as well. It is the State Surveyors who would actually hand out the repercussions. In one facility where I was working, the issue was that the programs were not getting initiated in a timely basis after therapy had written them and put them in the Restorative staff mailbox. Let's say that the Restorative staff only checks the mailbox once a week, or maybe the person was on vacation and so it was then two weeks after therapy that the patient finally gets the Restorative Program started. This really caused some big problems for the facility, and they got hit by the State Surveyors. It is very important that the staff get notified in a timely manner. That's where I think the face-to-face training really makes a big difference.
As far a staffing problems go, Restorative Programs are not regulated the same was as therapy, so a lot of the programs, especially exercise, can be done in large groups. Group work with Restorative Programs is a way to accommodate any staffing issues.
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