Staff Member Removed and Disposed of Resident's Personal Property
Penalty
Summary
A staff member failed to protect a resident's personal property when a certified nursing assistant (CNA) removed a resident's cellular telephone from the facility and later disposed of it in a trash receptacle at a local park. The incident was discovered after the resident's family, using a phone tracking application, determined that the phone had left the facility and was located in a park trash can. The family retrieved the phone and returned it to the resident. The CNA admitted to taking the phone, stating she was overwhelmed and accidentally picked it up, but then panicked and discarded it instead of returning it to the facility. The resident involved was cognitively intact and had multiple medical diagnoses, including non-rheumatic aortic valve stenosis, difficulty walking, COPD, asthma, diabetes, morbid obesity, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, heart disease, lymphedema, and osteoarthritis. The resident required varying levels of assistance with activities of daily living and was occasionally incontinent of urine and frequently incontinent of stool. The resident reported that the phone was left on the bedside table before going to lunch, and upon return, it was missing. The resident did not give anyone permission to use or remove the phone. Facility documentation and interviews confirmed that the CNA took the phone, realized it was not hers after leaving the facility, and disposed of it in a public trash can. The facility's abuse prevention policy defines misappropriation of resident property as the deliberate misplacement, exploitation, or wrongful use of a resident's belongings without consent. The local police were notified, and the CNA admitted to the actions during the investigation.