Failure to Account for and Safeguard Resident's Personal Funds
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to have a system in place to account for and manage a resident's personal funds, as required by policy. Interviews and record reviews revealed that the former Administrator had complete control over residents' funds without oversight or monitoring by other staff. There was no policy or procedure regarding staff acting as a resident's payee, and no logs or ledgers were maintained to track the spending of residents' funds. The Business Office did not provide any financial statements to the resident, and the Interim Administrator confirmed that no records or statements were given to the resident to account for her personal funds. The resident, who was cognitively intact and diagnosed with quadriplegia, reported never receiving statements or authorizing staff to spend her money except for her own use. Further investigation by law enforcement revealed that the former Administrator had misappropriated over $8,300 from the resident's funds, with the case pending with the Grand Jury. Staff interviews indicated that the former Administrator restricted the resident's spending and falsely claimed insufficient funds were available for requested purchases, despite the resident's account likely having a sufficient balance. The lack of oversight, absence of financial tracking, and failure to provide required statements enabled the misappropriation of the resident's funds to go undetected.