Failure to Report Alleged Resident-to-Resident Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report an allegation of abuse involving one resident, as required by its policy on Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation. The policy mandates reporting all alleged violations to the Administrator, state agency, adult protective services, and other required agencies within specified timeframes. In this case, a resident with diagnoses including type 2 diabetes mellitus, muscle weakness, difficulty walking, and depression, who was care planned for behaviors such as false accusations, reported to staff that another resident had hit him on the head. The incident was documented by an LPN, who noted that the resident was loud and verbally abusive, demanding that police be called, but no staff witnessed the alleged altercation and the accused resident denied the incident. Despite the resident's report and the facility's policy, staff did not inform the Administrator of the incident, and there is no evidence that the required authorities were notified. The resident later stated that he had to call the police himself because staff did not address the incident. The current Administrator confirmed that staff failed to inform the previous Administrator about the allegation, resulting in a lack of timely reporting and investigation as required by facility policy.