Delayed Reporting of Abuse Allegations
Summary
The facility failed to report alleged violations involving abuse, neglect, exploitation, and mistreatment within the required timeframe. Specifically, three residents were involved in incidents that were not reported to the New York State Department of Health within the mandated two-hour window. Resident #1 complained of pain in their private area and suspected inappropriate touching, but the facility delayed reporting the incident for five days, citing the need for a complete investigation and the resident's recantation of their statement. Despite the facility's policy requiring immediate reporting, the Assistant Director of Nursing and the Administrator acknowledged the delay, attributing it to the desire for concrete details before reporting. In another incident, Resident #2 was struck on the head with a soda can by Resident #3 in the dining room. Although staff were present, they could not prevent the altercation. The facility reported this incident the following day, reasoning that there was no serious bodily injury and Resident #2 refused assessment. The Director of Nursing and the Administrator both indicated that the incident was not initially considered to fall under the category requiring immediate reporting due to Resident #3's cognitive impairment and the lack of serious injury. The facility's policy on reporting abuse allegations was not adhered to in these cases, as both incidents were reported later than the required two-hour timeframe. The facility's investigation into the incidents concluded that there was no credible evidence of abuse in the first case and that the altercation in the second case was unavoidable. However, the delay in reporting these incidents to the appropriate authorities constitutes a deficiency in compliance with federal and state regulations.
Plan Of Correction
Plan of Correction: Approved March 4, 2025 I. IMMEDIATE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS 1. Residents #1, #2, and #3 no longer reside at the facility. 2. The Director of Nursing, Assistant Director of Nursing, and the Administrator were re-educated on: a. Gaps in practice cited by the NYSDOH at F609. b. The key points in F609. c. The facility’s Abuse, Mistreatment, Neglect, and Misappropriation of Resident Property. d. The requirements for reporting resident incident/accidents timely (F609). e. Identification criteria for reportable accident/incidents as per F609. f. Appropriate timelines/timeframes for reporting (F609). g. Reporting whether the resident is confused, does not have capacity, or unable/unwilling to verbalize the occurrence. h. Having a mental disorder or cognitive impairment does not automatically preclude a resident from engaging in deliberate or non-accidental actions. i. The facility’s accountability and responsibility for reporting alleged abuse, neglect, and mistreatment. j. Review of F609 definition of “alleged violation” and “serious bodily injury.” 3. Attendance sheets and lesson plans are filed for reference and validation. II. IDENTIFICATION OF OTHER RESIDENTS 1. All Accidents and Incidents occurring during the last 30 days were reviewed to confirm timely initial reporting and submission as required under F609. 2. No other deficient practices were found. III. MEASURES/SYSTEMATIC CHANGES TAKEN 1. The QAPI Committee will convene to examine the deficiency cited under Fed-F-609 483.12(c)(1)(4) Reporting of Alleged Violations: 10 NYCRR 415.4(b) a. Perform an assessment of the possible causative factors that may have contributed to the issues identified in the above deficiency. b. Identify the specific steps/interventions that must be initiated to eliminate and correct the causative factors identified during the assessment phase. c. Identify any routine triggers or parameters the facility will implement for F609 that will signal or alert all staff of an evolving problem or deficient practice situation. d. Indicate how this system will be implemented and sustained by the facility. e. Specify how the facility will measure whether efforts are successful or unsuccessful in maintaining compliance. 2. The QAPI committee reviewed the facility’s Abuse, Mistreatment, Neglect, and Misappropriation of Resident Property. a. No deviation from regulations under F609 or current standards of practice was identified. 3. Nurse Managers/Supervisors and Department Heads will receive re-education on: a. The Abuse, Mistreatment, Neglect, and Misappropriation of Resident Property policy and procedure with an emphasis placed on the facility’s responsibility to report the initial accident/incidents that fit the criteria and reporting requirements with F609 in a timely manner. 4. Attendance records and lesson plans will be filed for reference and validation. IV. HOW CORRECTIVE ACTION WILL BE MONITORED 1. The QAPI Committee developed an audit tool with measurable goals designed to review Accident and Incidents to determine reportability to the State Survey Agency. 2. The Director of Nursing/designee will utilize the audit tool to monitor and review the timeliness of all reportable resident accident and incidents to the State Survey Agency. 3. Audits will be performed weekly for four weeks, monthly for four months, and quarterly thereafter to sustain 100% compliance with the Abuse, Mistreatment, Neglect, and Misappropriation of Resident Property policy and procedure and F609. 4. Audits with negative findings will have immediate corrective actions including reporting per F609 and re-education for employees involved. 5. The Director of Nursing/designee will prepare a quarterly audit, summarizing the facility’s accident/incident report findings and corrective plans implemented (if applicable) to the QAPI Committee for needed revisions to the action plan, improvement of our delivery of care services, resident outcomes, and compliance with F609. 6. The Director of Nursing/designee will review Accident/Incidents daily to ensure the timely submission of all reportable accident/incidents to the State Survey Agency. V. TITLE OF PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR CORRECTION OF DEFICIENCY: 1. Director of Nursing. 2. March 14, 2025.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Failure to report an alleged misappropriation of resident funds. A resident with COPD, anxiety, and PTSD reported $1,600 missing and believed another resident took it, but the SSD reportedly said it was too long ago to investigate. The CNO recalled hearing about missing funds from a family member but did not pursue it, and the CEO stated the allegation should have been reported to the State Agency.
Failure to report alleged sexual abuse within required timeframe. A resident with intact cognition and significant ADL dependence alleged that a CNA raped them during incontinence care; the resident later described possible penetration and burning, while the CNA said they only provided brief care and applied ointment. The family member contacted law enforcement and requested hospital transfer, but facility leadership did not report the allegation to DOH within 2 hours, stating they believed the allegation had changed to rough handling and did not meet the reporting threshold.
Failure to Immediately Report Abuse Allegations and Injury of Unknown Origin: Staff did not immediately report two resident-to-resident sexual abuse incidents involving one resident touching two others, and staff also did not immediately report bruising of unknown origin on another resident. A CNA redirected the resident during the abuse incidents but did not notify the charge nurse, DON, or Administrator, and an RN and LPN did not escalate the bruising after assessing it and hearing it described as handprint-like. The delayed reporting prevented timely initiation of the abuse investigation process and resident assessment.
Failure to Report Alleged Physical Abuse: A resident alleged that two CNAs were rough while repositioning them in bed and that the resident’s head was bumped into the headboard, causing pain. One CNA confirmed the head bump occurred during care, and the administrator stated the abuse allegation and failure to report were substantiated because the staff did not report the incident immediately.
Failure to Timely Report Allegation of Abuse: A nurse witnessed one resident touch another resident inappropriately, but the incident was not reported within the required timeframe. The LPN separated the residents and addressed boundaries with the resident involved, but did not report the event because she believed the RN would notify the DON. The DON and Administrator later stated the incident had not been reported immediately as required.
Failure to Immediately Report Verbal Abuse Allegation: A CNA was heard using foul and disrespectful language toward a cognitively impaired resident during care, but the allegation was not reported immediately to the DON/Administrator. The witness delayed reporting for several hours, and the DON, ADON, and Administrator confirmed the report was not made until later that morning. The resident had severe cognitive impairment, was dependent on staff for care, and received nutrition via GT.
Failure to Report Alleged Misappropriation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure an allegation of misappropriation was reported to the State Agency as required for Resident #23, who was admitted with diagnoses including COPD, anxiety, and PTSD. Resident #23 stated that approximately two months before the survey, he reported $1,600.00 missing to the Social Services Director and believed another resident had taken the money. He reported that the SSD asked how long ago it happened, and when he said about one and a half months earlier, he was told it had been too long ago to investigate. During the survey, the SSD did not respond to a call for interview, the CNO stated she recalled a family member mentioning the missing funds but did not ask further questions, and the CNO said the allegation was never made directly to her or facility staff. The CEO stated the allegation should have been reported to the State Agency.
Failure to Report Alleged Sexual Abuse Within Required Timeframe
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that an alleged incident of abuse was reported to the New York State Department of Health and local law enforcement within two hours of the allegation. The deficiency involved one resident who had diagnoses including obstructive and reflux uropathy, hemiplegia, and hemiparesis following cerebral infarction. The resident’s MDS documented a BIMS score of 15, indicating intact cognition, and the care plan showed the resident required assistance with ADLs, including two staff members for transfers and toileting and extensive assistance for dressing, bathing, grooming, and bed mobility. According to the facility’s incident report, the resident told an LPN that they had been raped by a CNA while receiving care. The resident later described that the CNA entered the room to change a wet brief, applied cream to the hip and then to the anus and vaginal area, and that they felt something enter the anus and vagina while asking the CNA to stop. The CNA stated they provided incontinence care and applied A and D ointment to the perianal area, and the video review showed the CNA entered the room at 4:43 AM and exited at 5:19 AM. The resident’s family member reported that the resident called them, said to come immediately, and later stated that a staff member had raped them. The family member contacted law enforcement and requested hospital transfer. Facility leadership acknowledged awareness of the allegation but did not report the alleged rape to the Department of Health, stating they believed the allegation changed to rough handling and did not meet the reporting threshold. The DON, Administrator, and Social Worker each described differing understandings of the allegation and reporting status, and the report states there was no documented evidence that the allegation was reported to local law enforcement or the Department of Health within two hours as required.
Failure to Immediately Report Abuse Allegations and Injury of Unknown Origin
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure staff immediately reported allegations of abuse to administration for two separate resident-to-resident sexual abuse incidents involving three residents. One CNA witnessed Resident #3 inappropriately touch Resident #1’s breasts while Resident #1 was asleep, and later saw Resident #3 reach under Resident #2’s blanket while Resident #2 pushed the hands away and told Resident #3 to stop. The CNA redirected Resident #3 during both incidents but did not immediately notify the charge nurse, DON, or Administrator. The incidents were later identified by the DON through electronic medical record alerts, and the DON and Administrator stated they were not notified when the events occurred. The facility also failed to ensure staff immediately reported an injury of unknown origin for Resident #4. Two CNAs observed multiple bruises, including bruises resembling handprints, while providing care and notified an RN and LPN. The RN assessed the resident and documented bruising of unknown origin, but neither the RN nor the LPN notified the DON or Administrator at that time. The LPN stated the CNAs were discussing the bruises with the RN and therefore did not contact higher management, while the RN did not believe the bruising was concerning because the resident had fragile skin and was on a blood thinner. Because the allegations were not immediately escalated, the facility’s abuse investigation process was delayed, including resident assessment and collection of investigative information. For Resident #4, the DON stated the resident had already been transferred to the hospital before the facility initiated an abuse investigation and could not be assessed as part of the initial investigation. The Administrator acknowledged that facility protocol requiring immediate reporting of abuse allegations was not followed in both events.
Failure to Report Alleged Physical Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure an allegation of physical abuse was reported for one resident. A written statement from the resident said that a night shift CNA and the CNA’s helper slid the resident up in bed and rammed the resident’s head into the headboard, causing the resident to holler out in pain. The resident later stated that the staff had hurt them by being rough. An email statement from one CNA said that the resident’s head bumped the headboard while the resident was being pulled up in bed after a change, and that the CNA apologized and asked several times if the resident was okay. Employee counseling records showed two CNAs were terminated for failure to report an allegation of abuse. The administrator stated the abuse allegation and failure to report were substantiated after the facility investigation, and stated the staff should have reported the incident immediately when the resident said they were hurt.
Failure to Timely Report Allegation of Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report an allegation of abuse within the regulated timeframe for 2 of 27 residents reviewed for abuse. The facility policy stated that suspected abuse, neglect, exploitation, misappropriation of resident property, or injury of unknown source must be reported immediately, defined as within 2 hours for allegations involving abuse or serious bodily injury, or within 24 hours for allegations that do not involve abuse or serious bodily injury. R15 was admitted with diagnoses including dementia, essential hypertension, depression, and pure hyperglyceridemia, and R14 was admitted with diagnoses including hypertension, left above-the-knee amputation, anxiety disorder, neurogenic bladder, and COPD. Staff interviews and record review showed that a nurse witnessed R14 touch R15 inappropriately in the dining room on 06/22/26, with the Social Services Director later stating the incident was reported to her on 06/24/26. The LPN stated she was told by an RN that R14 touched R15 inappropriately, separated the residents, discussed boundaries with R14, and did not report it because she thought the RN would report it to the DON. The DON stated she was made aware on 06/24/26 of an incident that had occurred a couple of nights earlier, and the Administrator stated the nurse assigned to the residents did not report the incident immediately.
Failure to Immediately Report Verbal Abuse Allegation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that an allegation of verbal abuse was reported immediately to the Administrator when a CNA was witnessed using foul language at the bedside within earshot of a resident. The deficiency involved one resident reviewed for abuse/neglect and was based on interviews and record review showing that the allegation was not reported right away, but instead was brought to the DON hours later the same morning. The resident involved was a female with multiple serious diagnoses, including respiratory failure, a stage 2 sacral pressure ulcer, encephalopathy, anemia, diabetes, malnutrition, non-Alzheimer's dementia, depression, hypertension, severe chronic kidney disease, difficulty walking, failure to thrive, leukemia in remission, and a bone marrow transplant history. Her quarterly MDS showed a BIMS score of 07, indicating severe cognitive impairment, with delusions and inattentiveness. She was dependent on staff for personal hygiene, dressing, toileting, positioning, and transfers, was always incontinent of bowel and bladder, and received nutrition through a feeding tube. A CNA reported that while assisting the resident with care, another CNA repeatedly used disrespectful language toward the resident, including calling her a derogatory name while the resident was in the room and within hearing distance. The witness said she did not report the allegation immediately because she was thinking about it and did not want to jeopardize the other CNA's job, and she ultimately reported it later that morning to the DON. The DON and ADON confirmed the allegation was not brought to the Administrator until hours after it occurred, and the Administrator stated she was unaware of the behavior until the report was made. The facility records also showed policies requiring immediate reporting of suspected abuse and defining verbal abuse as communication within hearing distance that can cause humiliation, intimidation, fear, shame, agitation, or degradation.
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