Failure to Timely Report Allegation of Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report an allegation of abuse within the required two-hour timeframe to the State Survey Agency (SSA) after the Director of Staff Development (DSD) received a text message from a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) trainee stating she had witnessed abuse by another CNA. The trainee reported that residents were left soaking in urine for hours and that the CNA was rough and mean to many residents. The DSD attempted to obtain more information from the trainee, but the trainee was unresponsive and left the facility. The DSD informed the Administrator (ADMIN) of the allegations, but no further statement was obtained from the trainee. Despite being aware of the allegation, neither the DSD nor the ADMIN reported the incident to the SSA, and the accused CNA was not suspended pending investigation. The Director of Nurses (DON) confirmed that all allegations of abuse are to be reported to the ADMIN and that the facility must initiate an investigation and report the allegation within two hours. The facility's policy also required immediate reporting of suspected abuse, defined as within two hours. However, the facility did not report the allegation, citing the lack of a full statement from the trainee.