Failure to Provide Quarterly Financial Statements for Resident Personal Funds
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide quarterly financial statements to residents and/or their representatives for personal funds held by the facility. This deficiency was identified through a review of the facility's Personal Funds Account, documentation, and interviews involving 13 sampled residents. The residents affected had a range of cognitive abilities, with some being responsible for themselves and others having legal representatives or being conserved. Despite the facility managing their personal funds, neither the residents nor their representatives received the required quarterly statements. Interviews revealed that at least one resident's Power of Attorney (POA) had not received quarterly banking statements and had previously requested them without success. The Business Office Manager confirmed that she did not send out the statements, believing them unnecessary since she was the representative payee. This practice was applied to all affected residents for whom the facility managed personal funds, regardless of their cognitive status or legal representation. The Administrator was unaware that the statements were not being provided and attributed the issue to a breakdown in training and orientation for the Business Office Manager. The facility's own Resident Rights documentation specifies that residents have the right to a quarterly review of their account, which was not upheld in these cases.