Failure to Investigate Resident's Allegation of Sexual Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to conduct an investigation after a resident reported ongoing sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual gestures from another resident. The affected resident, who has a history of PTSD due to childhood sexual assault, stated that the other resident repeatedly made sexual gestures and verbal propositions, despite being told to stop. The resident reported these incidents to the facility administrator and other staff members multiple times over several months, but no documentation or investigation was initiated in response to these allegations. The administrator confirmed that the resident had reported the inappropriate behavior on several occasions but admitted that neither documentation nor an investigation was completed. The facility's Abuse Prevention Program Policy requires that all allegations of abuse, including sexual harassment, be documented and investigated. However, in this case, the required procedures were not followed, and there was no evidence of any attempt to interview involved parties or review relevant documentation as outlined in the policy.