Failure to Investigate Alleged Misappropriation of Resident Credit Card
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to follow its abuse prevention and reporting policy in response to an allegation of misappropriation of a resident’s property. A cognitively intact resident with a BIMS score of 15/15, who is bedridden and does not leave her room, reported that after admission she provided her credit card to the Business Office Manager to process a payment. The card was returned and placed on her overbed table, but when the resident later attempted to put it back into her zippered pouch, she could not find it. The resident subsequently became aware of unusual activity on her bank account, including a $500 charge to a florist and an $800 cash withdrawal plus a $2.50 fee, and she was instructed by the bank to freeze the card. The resident reported the missing card to facility staff, including the Business Office Manager, who stated she notified the Administrator and that the police were contacted. The Administrator, Resident Liaison, and Social Services Director each acknowledged awareness of the missing credit card and the fraudulent charges, and the Resident Liaison assisted the resident in contacting the bank. The bank later reimbursed the resident for the fraudulent charges. The resident told surveyors she felt unnerved and scared by the event, especially given that she had been robbed before in the community and did not expect this to occur in a nursing home. The resident also informed police whom she suspected might have taken the card, referencing a CNA who had asked her about how she picked her lucky numbers. A police report documented that the Administrator told law enforcement he believed a CNA assigned to the resident’s room on the day the card was used at an ATM was responsible, and that this CNA had also been assigned to another resident whose debit card had been stolen and had spoken about having a scam system at the facility. Despite this, the facility was unable to provide any documentation that an internal investigation was initiated in accordance with its abuse prevention policy. There was no evidence of an investigation file, no witness statements, no documented interview of the resident, and no interview of the alleged perpetrator. The facility’s written policy requires that all incidents or allegations involving exploitation or misappropriation of resident property be documented and investigated, including interviews with the reporter, the resident, and others with direct knowledge, but these steps were not carried out or documented in this case, and no reportable event was filed by the facility.
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