Failure to Interview All Involved Parties in Abuse Investigation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to conduct a thorough investigation into an alleged abuse incident involving one of five sampled residents. According to the facility's policy, all allegations of abuse are to be thoroughly investigated. In this case, a resident reported experiencing problems with other residents, including verbal abuse and physical altercations, and specifically mentioned issues with a particular roommate. The facility's investigation included interviews with the reporting resident and another resident, but did not include an interview with the roommate who was directly mentioned in the allegation. The Social Services Director (SSD), who was responsible for conducting resident interviews, confirmed that she did not interview the roommate because she was instructed by the Administrator to only interview another resident. The Administrator acknowledged that the omission occurred because they had previously spoken to the roommate about compatibility issues and overlooked the need to include him in the current investigation. As a result, the investigation did not fully address the concerns raised in the abuse allegation.