Failure to Protect a Resident From Verbal Abuse During Shower Care
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect a resident from verbal abuse when a certified nursing assistant (CNA) yelled and swore at the resident during care. The resident, who had been admitted with diagnoses including encounter for palliative care, acute chronic systolic (congestive) heart failure, muscle weakness, hearing loss, and absence of the left leg below the knee, had a Minimum Data Set indicating slight memory impairment. During a shower, CNA 1 was overheard yelling and swearing at the resident, and the resident was later described as visibly bothered when interviewed about the incident. In a subsequent interview, the resident reported that CNA 1 yelled and swore at him and that he did not like how he was treated. The resident’s care plan documented that he was a victim of alleged abuse related to CNA 1 yelling at him in the shower and calling him an "asshole." The facility’s Abuse Prevention and Management policy, effective 2024, stated that the facility does not condone any form of resident abuse, including verbal abuse, and defined verbal abuse as oral, written, or gestured communication or sounds that willfully include disparaging and derogatory terms directed to a resident. The substantiated incident of yelling and use of derogatory language toward the resident constituted a failure to ensure the resident was free from abuse as required by facility policy.
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