Failure to Suspend Accused Staff Member During Abuse Investigation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to follow its abuse policy by not suspending a staff member accused of abuse pending the outcome of an investigation. According to the facility's policy, any staff member accused of abuse should be immediately suspended while the investigation is conducted. On the evening of 5/16/25, a CNA reported to an LPN supervisor that another CNA had pushed a resident. The supervisor instructed the reporting CNA to write a statement and leave it for the DON. The following day, the DON was made aware of the incident and initiated an investigation, which included statements from involved staff and a head-to-toe assessment of the resident, with no injuries noted. Despite the policy requirement, the accused CNA was not suspended and continued to work their scheduled shifts during and after the investigation. This was confirmed by both the DON and the LPN supervisor during interviews. The investigation concluded that there was no evidence of abuse, but the failure to suspend the accused staff member during the investigation constituted noncompliance with the facility's own abuse prevention policy.