Failure to Immediately Report Resident-to-Resident Abuse Allegation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to immediately report an allegation of resident-to-resident abuse to the Nursing Home Administrator as required. On the day of the incident, a cognitively intact resident was reportedly assaulted by another resident, as relayed by the first resident’s family member to an LPN. The LPN, who was assigned to both residents, observed one resident yelling and the other resident shutting the door, but did not witness any visible injuries or hear a direct allegation of abuse at that time. Despite receiving a phone call from the resident’s friend alleging an assault, the LPN did not notify the Nursing Home Administrator or Director of Nursing, believing that nothing significant had occurred since the resident appeared unharmed and did not verbalize abuse. A few hours later, police arrived at the facility after being contacted by the resident’s family, at which point the resident reported being struck in the head by the other resident. The Nursing Home Administrator was not made aware of the abuse allegation until the following day, when the Director of Nursing attended a care conference with the resident and their family. This delay in reporting resulted in the investigation not being initiated until the day after the alleged incident.