Failure to Provide Social Services After Abuse Incidents
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to provide adequate medically-related social services to support the psychosocial well-being of two residents following incidents of abuse by another resident. One resident reported feeling isolated after being moved to a different area of the building due to repeated incidents involving another resident, including having hand sanitizer squirted in her eyes, which resulted in ongoing eye issues and feelings of vulnerability. Despite these events, there were no documented interventions or follow-up by social services to address her emotional well-being, and required assessments such as the PHQ-9 were not completed as scheduled. Another resident was observed crying and upset after being physically grabbed by the same resident, but staff attributed her distress to her usual behavior and did not assess or document her psychosocial or emotional health following the incident. Progress notes lacked information on interventions to prevent further abuse or to address the resident's emotional response to the event. These actions and omissions demonstrate a failure to ensure residents' highest practicable level of physical and psychosocial well-being through appropriate social services interventions.