Failure to Attempt Identification of Unidentified Resident
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to make an adequate attempt to identify a resident who was admitted without known identity. The resident, who had diagnoses including hemiplegia, acute respiratory failure, encephalopathy, and sepsis, lacked the capacity to understand and make decisions. Despite being admitted without identification, the social worker only attempted to contact the hospital for information and did not reach out to law enforcement for assistance in identifying the resident. The social worker was unaware that contacting law enforcement was necessary and stated that the resident could have been a missing person since January, with family potentially searching for him. The Director of Nursing confirmed that an effort should have been made to identify the resident upon admission, specifically by contacting the police. The facility's policy required the social services staff to obtain information about residents' personal and family backgrounds and to collaborate with community agencies when specialized assistance was needed. However, these steps were not followed, resulting in the resident remaining unidentified for an extended period after admission.