Failure to Timely Report Alleged Verbal Abuse to State Agency
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that an allegation of staff-to-resident verbal abuse was reported to the state agency within two hours of knowledge, as required by facility policy. Specifically, a resident with moderate cognitive impairment reported that a CNA used abusive language about his mother. The resident informed his son, who then discussed the incident with the Administrator. The resident's roommate, who was cognitively intact, corroborated the incident, stating that the CNA responded to the resident's offensive language with similar inappropriate language about the resident's mother. The son also reported the incident to the Administrator during a meeting, along with other concerns. Despite these reports, a review of the facility's records showed no documentation of the abuse allegation being reported to the state agency. Interviews with the Administrator and DON revealed that neither was aware of the specific verbal abuse allegation until it was brought to their attention during the survey. The Administrator confirmed that, upon learning of the allegation, he did not report it to the state agency as required by policy, nor had he done so as of the following day.