Failure to Protect Resident from Physical and Verbal Abuse by Staff
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect a resident's right to be free from physical and verbal abuse by a staff member. According to facility policy, all staff are prohibited from physically, mentally, or emotionally abusing, mistreating, or neglecting residents, and are required to immediately report any such incidents. In this case, a resident with a history of cerebral infarction, dysphagia, aphasia, and other significant medical conditions, who required maximal assistance for activities of daily living, was subjected to rough and rude treatment by an LPN during an assessment following a fall. Multiple staff members, including several GNAs, witnessed the LPN being physically rough with the resident, including pulling and jerking the resident's arms, yelling at the resident to stop moving, and removing a blood pressure cuff in a forceful manner that caused it to break. Written statements and interviews from the GNAs consistently described the LPN's actions as rough, rude, and mean, with the LPN yelling at the resident and handling the resident in a way that was considered abusive by the witnesses. The resident, who had moderate cognitive impairment and was unable to move independently, was unable to verbally respond due to aphasia. The incident was promptly reported by the GNAs to another nurse, who escalated the report to the DON. The facility's internal investigation, as documented in the follow-up report, verified the allegations of abuse, with multiple staff corroborating the account of rough and verbally abusive behavior by the LPN toward the resident. The resident did not sustain serious bodily harm or injuries as a result of the incident, but the actions of the LPN constituted a failure to protect the resident from abuse as required by facility policy.