Failure to Implement Preventative Action After Alleged Misappropriation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure preventative action was taken following an allegation of misappropriation of a resident's property. A resident with severe cognitive impairment and multiple medical diagnoses was reported by family members to have missing cash from their wallet. The family regularly counted the resident's money and noticed that two $50 bills were missing over a two-day period. The incident was reported to facility administration, and both the resident and family members were interviewed. The facility searched the resident's room but was unable to locate the missing money. There was disagreement among family members regarding whether the resident may have hidden the money, but no resolution was reached regarding the missing funds. Despite the facility's policy requiring analysis of such occurrences and implementation of preventative measures, including staff education, no staff education related to misappropriation was completed following the incident. The Nursing Home Administrator was unsure if staff education had been provided, and the Director of Nursing confirmed that it had not. The facility did not take further preventative action to address the potential for misappropriation or to prevent recurrence, as required by their own policies.