Failure to Investigate Allegations of Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to investigate allegations of verbal and physical abuse for two residents, despite both residents being cognitively intact and able to report their concerns. One resident reported that a night shift nurse's aide was rough during care and yelled at him, and stated that he had submitted written complaints twice, including one written by a medication nurse on his behalf. However, the Director of Nursing and the Social Worker both confirmed that they were unaware of any grievances from this resident, and no investigation was conducted into his allegations. Another resident reported that nurse's aides were rough during care, yelled at her, and ignored her call bells, with one incident involving being left in bed for hours in feces. The resident's husband also reported concerns about his wife being manhandled. Although a Resident Concern Report was completed, there was no documented evidence of a thorough investigation, such as staff statements, findings, conclusions, or disciplinary actions. The Social Worker acknowledged interviewing the nurse's aide involved but did not document the interview or include it in the investigation file. Facility policy requires prompt reporting and thorough investigation of all abuse allegations, including interviews with all relevant parties and documentation of findings. In both cases, the facility did not follow its own policies or regulatory requirements, as there was no evidence of a complete investigation or appropriate documentation regarding the residents' allegations of abuse.