Unauthorized Photograph of Resident on Staff Cell Phone
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when a certified nursing assistant (CNA) was found to have a photograph of a resident on his personal cell phone without obtaining consent. The resident involved had diagnoses including diabetes mellitus, dementia, hypertension, and end stage renal disease, and required maximum staff assistance for daily activities due to impaired cognition. The photograph, which depicted the resident fully clothed in a hoyer lift, was discovered after it was received by human resources from the CNA's phone. The CNA admitted to having pictures of residents on his phone but claimed not to have taken them himself. The facility's policy defined mental abuse to include staff taking, keeping, distributing, or using photographs or recordings of a resident that could demean or humiliate them. The CNA was suspended immediately upon discovery of the incident and was later terminated following an internal investigation, which confirmed the presence of the unauthorized photograph. The incident was identified as a failure to protect the resident from abuse as required by facility policy.