Resident Rights Violated by Disrespectful and Threatening Staff Conduct
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency occurred when a Certified Medication Tech (CMT) spoke to a resident in a disrespectful and threatening manner during a medication pass. The resident, who had diagnoses including unspecified dementia and schizophrenia, approached the medication cart to request pain medication, reporting significant pain at the time. The CMT told the resident to wait, which led to the resident becoming agitated, striking the medication cart, and using derogatory language toward the CMT. In response, the CMT raised their voice and made a statement interpreted by multiple witnesses as threatening, such as, "if you hit my cart again, that will be the last time you hit it," or similar variations. Multiple staff members, including CNAs, nurses, and supervisors, either overheard or were present during the incident and described the CMT's tone as raised, disrespectful, and threatening. Written and verbal statements from staff corroborated that the CMT's response was inappropriate and not in line with resident rights or facility policy, which requires residents to be treated with dignity and respect. The resident expressed feeling uncomfortable and not wanting to be around the CMT due to the interaction. The facility's own policy emphasizes the right of residents to be treated with consideration and respect, and staff interviews confirmed that threatening language toward residents is unacceptable. The Director of Nursing and Administrator both acknowledged that the CMT's statements were disrespectful and should not have been made. The incident was reported and documented by several staff, and the situation was de-escalated after intervention by other staff members.