Failure to Prevent Resident-to-Resident Verbal Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to prevent verbal abuse when one resident verbally threatened, cursed, and yelled at another resident in the activities room. The resident who was verbally abused had intact cognitive skills and was generally independent in daily activities, while the resident who initiated the verbal aggression had moderately impaired cognitive skills and a history of verbal aggression. Multiple staff members, including an LVN, the Activities Director, and the Director of Nursing, directly observed or were made aware of the incident, which involved one resident yelling, cursing, and threatening to physically harm another resident. Following the incident, the affected resident was observed to be scared, upset, and unusually quiet for the remainder of the shift. The facility's policy explicitly states a zero-tolerance approach to any form of abuse, including resident-to-resident abuse, and defines verbal abuse as yelling, cursing, and threatening another resident. Despite this policy, the incident occurred and was witnessed by staff, with the affected resident experiencing emotional distress as a result. The report documents that the facility did not prevent the occurrence of verbal abuse between residents, as required by their own policy and regulatory standards.