Failure to Maintain Separate Accounting and Timely Refunds of Resident Funds
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to prevent the commingling of personal funds belonging to nine residents with the facility's operating funds. Record review showed that the facility's admission assessment policy requires a system that ensures separate accounting of resident funds, prohibits commingling with facility or other individuals' funds, and mandates timely refunds within 30 days of discharge. Despite these requirements, the Accounts Receivable (AR) Aging report revealed that significant amounts of resident funds were held in the facility's operating account, totaling $22,759.25 for the nine residents. There was no written permission to hold these funds after discharge. Interviews with the administrator and Director of Operations (DOO) confirmed that the process for issuing refunds and updating the AR Aging report is managed at the corporate level, and the facility administrator cannot issue refunds directly. Both the administrator and DOO acknowledged awareness of outstanding credits owed to residents, with refunds not being issued within the required 30-day timeframe. The DOO stated that financial constraints sometimes delayed approval for refunds, and that refund checks and updates to the AR Aging report were not consistently communicated to the facility. The facility did not have written authorization to retain resident funds after discharge.