Failure to Timely Report Alleged Abuse to Regulatory Agency
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report an allegation of abuse to the regulatory agency, the Office of Health Care Quality (OHCQ), within the required 2-hour timeframe. On the morning of 9/27/23, a housekeeping staff member observed a resident at the first-floor nursing station in a wheelchair with a bed sheet tied in a knot around their back. Unable to find anyone to report the incident to on the first floor, the housekeeper went to the second-floor nursing unit and informed a GNA. The charge nurse on the second floor overheard this and immediately notified the first-floor charge nurse. Despite these actions, facility documentation shows that the initial report to OHCQ was not made until later that afternoon, well beyond the mandated 2-hour window. The DON confirmed during an interview that the report was not submitted within the required timeframe.