Failure to Protect Cognitively Impaired Resident From Verbal Abuse by CNA
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect a resident from verbal abuse by a CNA during the provision of care. The resident had diagnoses including Parkinson's disease, dementia, visual hallucinations, aphasia, dysphagia, and an anxiety disorder with hallucinations, and was documented as severely cognitively impaired and dependent on staff for mobility. The resident’s care plan included interventions such as using touch to provide comfort and offering 1:1 interaction. Video footage from an electronic monitoring device in the resident’s room, reviewed by the resident’s spouse and later by the DON, showed that while the resident was naked and being prepared for a shower with a mechanical lift sling, the resident experienced urinary incontinence and the CNA responded by saying, “Girl, of course you would pee right now. Right now, of all the times in the world!” In a separate incident captured on video, the same CNA was providing care to the resident while simultaneously using her personal cell phone on speaker mode in the resident’s presence. During this call, the CNA used explicit and profane language, including statements such as, “It is so f*****g the bomb. Oh, my f*****g God. I'm trying to make all this shit make sense.” The facility’s abuse/neglect policy defines verbal abuse as the use of oral, written, or gestured language that includes disparaging and derogatory remarks to residents or their families within their sight or hearing, regardless of the resident’s ability to comprehend. The DON and Administrator both confirmed that their investigation substantiated that verbal abuse occurred toward this resident by the CNA.
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