Failure to Complete Thorough Investigation of Missing Resident Property
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to conduct a thorough investigation after a resident reported that $90 was missing from her room. The resident, who had no cognitive impairment and multiple medical diagnoses including cerebral palsy, anxiety, and PTSD, kept her money in a specific location in her dresser. Upon discovering the money was missing, she notified staff and the facility replaced the funds. However, the facility's 5-day investigation only included the resident's statement, a timeline of the incident, and a plan of action, but did not include interviews with staff or other residents. Further review revealed that the Director of Nursing was not present at the time of the incident and deferred to another staff member who completed the investigation, but the investigative file could not be located by the Administrator. The only documentation submitted to the State Agency included the resident's care plan, facesheet, and a 5-day summary. The facility's policy requires obtaining witness statements and thorough documentation, but these steps were not completed or could not be verified due to missing records.