Failure to Timely Report Resident Abuse Allegation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that an allegation of abuse made by a resident was reported immediately to the appropriate authorities as required by policy and regulation. Specifically, a resident with diagnoses including mood disorder and anxiety informed a Registered Nurse Supervisor that they would tell a doctor at an outside appointment that they had been abused in the facility. The Registered Nurse Supervisor relayed this information to the facility's Medical Doctor, who later documented the resident's claim of abuse in a progress note. Despite this, neither the Medical Doctor nor the Registered Nurse Supervisor reported the allegation to the Director of Nursing or the Administrator, and there was no documentation that the incident was reported to the New York State Department of Health. The facility's policy required immediate reporting of all abuse allegations to the Administrator and Director of Nursing, and to the State Department of Health within two hours if serious bodily injury or abuse was involved. Review of records showed no incident or accident reports were initiated regarding the resident's complaint, and the Director of Nursing and Administrator were unaware of the allegation until months later. Interviews confirmed that the involved staff did not follow reporting procedures, and the required notifications and documentation were not completed at the time of the allegation.