Failure to Timely Report Allegation of Abuse
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when the facility failed to report an allegation of abuse in a timely manner for a resident with multiple psychiatric diagnoses, including major depressive disorder, paranoid personality disorder, mild cognitive impairment, and delusional disorder. The resident, who had a history of self-harm and psychiatric conditions, accused a registered nurse of being a murderer and an abuser, as documented in a progress note. This allegation was not reported immediately as required by facility policy. The facility only became aware of the allegation several days later, after discovering the note in the resident's medical record. By that time, the resident had been hospitalized following an intentional ingestion of drain cleaner, reportedly due to feeling overwhelmed and abused at the facility. The registered nurse involved did not report the resident's comment, stating that such remarks were common from the resident. The facility's policy required timely reporting of all alleged violations, but this was not followed in this instance.