Failure to Report Alleged Staff-to-Resident Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report an allegation of staff-to-resident abuse to the State Agency as required by its abuse policy. A registered nurse (RN) was informed by certified nursing assistants (CNAs) that a resident was spitting and swearing at them, and when the RN assessed the resident, the resident stated that the CNAs had hit her. The RN questioned the CNAs, who dismissed the allegation as a recurring behavior from the resident, and the RN did not notify administration of the allegation, later stating it slipped his mind despite knowing the reporting requirement. The administrator confirmed that no abuse report was filed for the incident, and a review of facility records showed no report for the resident on the relevant date. The facility's policy requires all alleged violations involving abuse to be reported to the state agency immediately, or within 24 hours if there is no serious bodily injury, and to ensure thorough investigation of all allegations.