Failure to Investigate and Report Alleged Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to initiate an investigation into an alleged violation of abuse after being notified by a hospital social worker that a resident reported experiencing physical and sexual abuse while at the facility. The hospital social worker communicated this allegation to the facility's Director of Social Service, who acknowledged awareness of the resident's intention to report abuse but did not consider there to be any incident warranting investigation. As a result, no investigation was initiated, and the allegation was not reported to the facility Administrator or the Department of Health. Review of facility records confirmed that there was no documentation of an investigation or grievance report related to the hospital's report of alleged abuse. Interviews with the Director of Social Service, Director of Nursing, and Administrator revealed that neither the DON nor the Administrator were made aware of the allegation. The Director of Social Service confirmed that no investigation or reporting occurred, despite the facility's policy requiring all abuse allegations to be thoroughly investigated and reported.