Failure to Remove Accused Staff After Abuse Allegation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect a resident from potential abuse after an allegation was made against a nursing assistant (NA). According to the facility's abuse policy, staff accused of abuse should be immediately removed from resident care areas and suspended pending investigation. However, after an allegation of potential abuse involving a nursing assistant and a resident was documented, the accused NA continued to be scheduled and had the opportunity to care for residents on multiple shifts following the incident. The nursing schedule confirmed that the NA worked several overnight shifts after the allegation was identified, and the administrator acknowledged that the NA was not suspended as part of the abuse investigation until several days later. This lapse in following the facility's abuse policy resulted in the resident not being protected from potential further abuse during the investigation period. The administrator confirmed that the accused NA was only sent home for unrelated reasons on one of the scheduled days and was otherwise present and able to provide care to residents, including the resident involved in the allegation. The failure to immediately remove the accused staff member from resident care areas constituted a breach of the facility's own procedures for protecting residents after an abuse allegation.