Resident Verbally Abused by Staff Member
Penalty
Summary
A resident with diagnoses including unspecified dementia and major depressive disorder, who exhibited behaviors such as wandering, entering other residents' rooms, and attempting to access the medication cart, was subjected to verbal abuse by a registered nurse. The nurse, in response to the resident's wandering and approaching the medication cart, made threatening statements including, "I'm going to kick your a**" and "When I quit or get fired, I'm going to kick your a**." These statements were witnessed by multiple staff members, who immediately reported the incident to facility leadership. The facility's investigation, corroborated by four eyewitness accounts, substantiated that the nurse verbally abused the resident. The facility's abuse policy defines verbal abuse as the use of disparaging or derogatory language toward residents, regardless of their ability to comprehend. The nurse involved resigned during the investigation. The incident resulted in the resident being verbally abused by a staff member, with the potential for a decline in the resident's mental and psychosocial well-being.