Failure to Report Alleged Exploitation to APS
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to report an allegation of misappropriation of property and exploitation to Adult Protective Services (APS) as required by its own policy. The policy stated that the Administrator must immediately notify APS of any incident involving abuse, mistreatment, neglect, or misappropriation of personal property. In this case, a resident was allegedly exploited by a nursing assistant (NA), who attempted to gain access to the resident's personal home by convincing the resident to allow her to stay there and by seeking a key from the resident's neighbor. The neighbor and a family member, who was the resident's financial proxy and health power of attorney, reported that the resident was easily manipulated and that the NA attempted to exploit the resident to become a squatter in the resident's home. The facility became aware of the incident and suspended the NA pending investigation, and notified local law enforcement, but there was no documentation that APS was notified at any point. Interviews with facility staff revealed a lack of communication and clarity regarding the responsibility for reporting such incidents to APS. The former Administrator could not recall if APS was notified and stated that the Social Worker was usually responsible for such notifications, but the Social Worker reported she was not informed of the incident and therefore did not notify APS. The investigation report and other documentation confirmed that APS was not notified of the allegation, and facility leadership acknowledged that no plan of correction was completed for this reporting failure.