Failure to Timely Report Alleged Abuse to State Agency and Administrator
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to implement its Abuse Policy by not immediately reporting an allegation of abuse involving a resident to the Administrator and the State Agency. According to the facility's policy, any employee who becomes aware of alleged abuse or neglect must immediately report it to the Administrator, who is then responsible for notifying the resident's representative and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) both by telephone and in writing. In this case, a resident reported to a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) that a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) was mean, yelled at her, and refused to assist her to the restroom. The SLP documented the allegation and provided it to the Director of Nursing (DON), but neither the SLP nor the DON reported the incident to the Administrator as required by policy. Further review of the facility's records and interviews with staff revealed that the allegation was not reported to the State Agency, and key administrative staff, including the Administrator and DON, were unaware of the incident until much later. Even after the Administrator became aware of the allegation, the facility did not report it to the State Agency, with the Administrator stating that since the report was already late, it did not matter if it was reported at that point. This sequence of actions and inactions resulted in the facility's failure to follow its own abuse reporting procedures and regulatory requirements.