Failure to Notify Responsible Party of Abuse Allegation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to notify the responsible party (RP) of a resident's allegation of abuse. The resident, who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, reported to staff that she had been hit on the head by a tall man with a stick during the early morning hours. This allegation was documented in the resident's progress notes, and the care plan was updated to address a potential psychosocial well-being problem related to the claim. The care plan included an intervention to increase communication between the resident, family, and caregivers. During an interview and record review with the Director of Nursing (DON), it was confirmed that there was no documentation indicating the RP had been informed of the abuse allegation. The DON acknowledged that the RP should have been notified and kept updated about the resident's situation. Facility policy requires that all reports of resident abuse be reported and that the resident's representative be notified immediately upon conclusion of the investigation, but this was not done in this case.