Failure to Protect Resident from Physical Abuse by Another Resident
Penalty
Summary
A resident with vascular dementia, anxiety, cognitive impairment, and hypertension was involved in a physical altercation with another resident. The incident occurred in a hallway where the resident was sitting within arm's length of another individual, who turned and punched the resident in the face. The event was witnessed by a charge nurse, who reported that the resident did not provoke the attack, despite the other resident's claim that their chair had been kicked. The resident who was struck was assessed immediately after the incident, with no injuries observed and no pain reported. The resident also had no recollection of the incident shortly after it occurred. The facility's documentation and interviews revealed that the social worker was not informed of the incident until several days later, and there was a lack of immediate follow-up by the social worker. The facility's abuse policy states that residents have the right to be free from abuse, but the incident demonstrated a failure to protect the resident from physical abuse by another resident. The deficiency centers on the facility's inability to ensure the resident's safety and freedom from abuse as required.