Failure to Protect Resident From Misappropriation of Debit Card
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to protect a resident from misappropriation of property and to ensure the resident was free from wrongful use of his money. The resident was admitted with diagnoses including COPD, arteriosclerotic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, and type 2 diabetes, and had minimal cognitive deficits per the MDS. His care plan identified that he had a potential to gift money to staff. Despite this known behavior, the resident’s debit and credit cards were left accessible in his room, including in the top drawer of his nightstand and at times on the bed or floor, and were not consistently secured. While the resident was hospitalized, his power of attorney (POA) received alerts from the bank that his debit card, which remained at the facility, had been used for two vending machine purchases, each for $1.35, with additional $5 account holds for each transaction. The POA reported that there had also been other random alerts of the card being used at the facility’s vending machines on prior occasions when the resident was in the building. The POA stated it was possible staff had used the card to buy snacks for the resident at his request, but she found this odd because she regularly brought him large amounts of his preferred snacks and drinks. The resident later confirmed that his debit card had been used at the vending machine while he was in the hospital and stated he did not know who used it. Staff interviews showed that multiple staff were aware the resident frequently offered money to staff and that it was against facility policy to accept it. Staff also reported seeing the resident’s debit card left lying around, including on the floor and in the bed. On the date of the disputed transactions, housekeeping staff reported cleaning the resident’s room and seeing bank cards in the room, and one CNA reported briefly opening the adjoining bathroom door into the resident’s room to look for briefs. The administrator determined that the only vending machines were in the employee lounge, accessible to staff, residents, and visitors, and there were no surveillance cameras in the building. The facility’s abuse policy required immediate protection of residents, aggressive investigation of misappropriation allegations, and removal of suspected staff from the facility, but the investigation concluded as undetermined as to who used the card, and no individual responsible for the misappropriation was identified.
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