Failure to Protect Resident from Verbal Abuse by Staff
Penalty
Summary
A resident with diagnoses including schizophrenia, convulsions, severe obesity with alveolar hypoventilation, and hypertension was subjected to verbal abuse by a Qualified Medication Aide (QMA). The QMA was overheard by an LPN using inappropriate and disrespectful language, specifically telling the resident to clean his room using profanity. The resident became visibly upset and was crying as a result of the incident. The QMA left the room immediately after the incident, and the LPN spent time with the resident to calm him down, with additional support provided by a CNA. The incident was not reported immediately by the LPN who witnessed it, as she believed the resident was safe after the QMA left. The resident later confirmed feeling hurt and upset by the QMA's actions. The facility's policy requires residents to be free from all forms of abuse, including verbal abuse, but this policy was not followed in this instance, as the staff member's actions directly resulted in emotional distress for the resident.