Failure to Report Suspected Theft of Resident Property to State Authorities
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report a reasonable suspicion of a crime, specifically the suspected theft of two wedding rings by a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Ombudsman's office as required by facility policy. The policy states that all allegations of suspected or actual abuse, including misappropriation of resident property, must be reported to the local police, Ombudsman, and CDPH within two hours. In this case, two residents were affected: one with severe cognitive impairment and requiring significant assistance with daily activities, and another with intact cognition but severe hearing and vision loss, also requiring substantial staff assistance. Both residents were not their own responsible parties. The events leading to the deficiency included reports from family members that the residents' wedding rings were missing, and subsequent suspicion that CNA D, who was assigned to both residents, had stolen the rings. The administrator confirmed that after noticing an online post from CNA D selling jewelry and being informed of the missing rings, the police were notified immediately. However, the facility did not report the suspicion of theft to CDPH or the Ombudsman's office as required, despite having reasonable suspicion of a crime involving resident property.