Resident Forced to Shower Against Will; Staff Failed to Report Abuse
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when a resident with chronic respiratory failure and failure to thrive, who was dependent on staff for bathing and had a care plan allowing showers at their discretion, was forced to take a shower against their will by a CNA. The resident verbally refused the shower, protested loudly, and informed the CNA that it was illegal to be touched against their will, but the CNA proceeded to transfer the resident into a shower chair using a Hoyer lift and wheeled them to the shower room while the resident continued to scream in protest. Another resident witnessed the incident and reported it to the Director of Nursing several days later. During the incident, a CNA and an RN assigned to the unit heard the resident yelling and entered the room, finding the resident in the Hoyer lift protesting the shower. Both staff members assisted in lowering the resident into the shower chair for safety but did not intervene further or report the incident to management. The resident later confirmed that neither the CNA nor the RN listened to their objections or stopped the forced shower. The facility's investigation substantiated the allegation of abuse, confirming that the CNA forced the resident to shower against their will and that other staff present failed to report the incident as required by facility policy. The incident was only brought to management's attention after being reported by another resident several days later.