Failure to Timely Report Abuse Allegations to State Agency
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report allegations of abuse involving one resident to the state survey agency as required by its Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation policy. The policy mandates that all alleged violations be reported to the Administrator, state agency, adult protective services, and other required agencies within specified timeframes—immediately, but not later than two hours if the allegation involves abuse or results in serious bodily injury, or within 24 hours if not. The Director of Nursing (DON) received an allegation of verbal abuse from the resident's daughter and a separate allegation of physical abuse from a CNA, but did not report either incident to the state agency. The DON admitted to not knowing the abuse policy and acknowledged the failure to report. No documentation was provided to show that any abuse allegations had been reported to the state agency since February.