Failure to Timely Report Allegation of Emotional Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to submit a timely report of an allegation of emotional abuse involving a resident to the local State field office, as required by facility policy and state regulations. The resident in question had a history of hypertension, anxiety disorder, COPD, and dementia, and was care planned to be gently redirected during inappropriate actions. On one occasion, the resident expressed concerns about staff being mean and reported feeling taunted and picked on by staff. Documentation showed that the resident had significant behavioral episodes, including yelling profanities, making threats, and requiring police and EMS intervention for psychological evaluation. Despite these incidents and the resident's statements about mistreatment, there was no evidence that the facility reported the allegation of emotional abuse to the State field office within the required timeframe. Interviews with other residents and staff corroborated the occurrence of the incident, including a staff member refusing to clean a soiled bathroom and a verbal altercation between the resident and staff. The resident council also raised concerns about staff intimidation. Review of facility records and reports submitted to the State field office confirmed that no report related to the resident's allegation of emotional abuse was made. The Nursing Home Administrator and Director of Nursing acknowledged the failure to report the allegation as required by policy and regulation.