Failure to Investigate New Allegation of Sexual Abuse
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to investigate a new allegation of sexual abuse made by a resident with diagnoses of paranoid schizophrenia and delusional disorder. The resident, who was cognitively intact and dependent for transfers, reported during a hospital stay that she had been sexually abused at the facility two to three weeks prior to her hospitalization. The hospital's case manager and social worker both communicated this new allegation to facility staff, noting that the resident did not know the identity of the perpetrator. Despite being notified of the new allegation, facility staff, including the administrator and other personnel, did not initiate an investigation. They stated that a similar allegation had been investigated in the past and therefore did not pursue the current report. The facility's abuse policy requires immediate and thorough investigation of all abuse allegations, but this policy was not followed in this instance.