F566 – Residents Providing Services for the Nursing Home

F566 includes that residents have the right to choose or refuse to perform services in the nursing home. The nursing home must not require the resident to perform services as part of admission or ongoing residency. If the resident chooses to perform services, the nursing home must ensure that:

• They documented the resident’s need or desire to perform work in the care plan.
• The care plan includes the nature of services performed, whether the service is voluntary or paid, and that the resident agrees to the arrangement.
• If the resident receives compensation for the services, the rates must be at or above prevailing rates.

As an administrator there are a couple times that I recall this being used including when a resident expressed a desire to help fold laundry as this was something they enjoyed. For infection control purposes we had the resident fold items that were appropriate such as rags used in the kitchen for cleaning that were placed in sanitizer buckets. The other example was a resident that was younger and required to perform at least one hour of service for compensation to maintain Medicaid eligibility. In both examples, we ensured that the above information was clearly outlined in their care plan and when providing compensation, we maintained documentation of the compensation amounts in the resident’s file.