Failure to Timely Report Alleged Misappropriation of Resident Property
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report an allegation of misappropriation of a resident's property to the State Agency within the required 24-hour timeframe. A resident with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and an above-knee amputation, who was cognitively intact, reported missing cash and a debit card to facility staff. The incident occurred when the resident noticed the items were missing and informed staff, who then searched for the items over the following days. The debit card was eventually found, but the cash remained missing at the time of the initial report. The facility did not submit the required report to the State Agency until more than 24 hours after the resident first reported the missing items. Interviews with staff, including a CNA, LPN, and the DON, revealed that the facility's practice was to search for missing items before reporting them as misappropriated, sometimes delaying the reporting process. The DON acknowledged that the report was not made within the mandated timeframe and stated that the delay was partly due to the resident's request to hold off on reporting. Facility policy required all allegations of misappropriation to be reported to the Administrator and appropriate agencies within specified timeframes, but this was not followed in this instance.