Failure to Safeguard Resident Funds and Investigate Reported Misappropriation
Summary
Facility staff failed to protect a cognitively intact resident from misappropriation of funds and did not follow required abuse/misappropriation reporting and investigation protocols. The resident’s quarterly MDS documented that the resident was cognitively intact. At admission, the resident had $1700 in cash, described as $100 bills, which the resident reported giving to a staff member in the business office to be placed in an account for the resident’s use. RN A, who completed the admission, stated that he/she took the resident to the Business Office Manager’s (BOM) office, witnessed the resident hand the $1700 in cash to a staff member, and heard the staff member tell the resident the money would be put into an account for the resident. Review of the resident’s funds account showed no deposit of $1700 during the period reviewed. Multiple staff and family reports about the missing $1700 were made over several months without a timely or thorough investigation by the administrator. The Activity Director reported that in early August, during an admission activity assessment, the resident stated he/she had given $1700 in cash to a staff member on the day of admission and did not know what happened to the money; the Activity Director reported this concern to the administrator. The Social Service Director (SSD) D stated that shortly after starting in September, the resident’s family member asked about the missing $1700, and a former staff member told them the facility was investigating it. SSD D further reported that in October, he/she and the resident’s family member spoke directly with the administrator, in front of the receptionist, about the missing money. The receptionist confirmed witnessing SSD D and the family member inform the administrator about the missing funds and stated the administrator had been made aware of the issue even before that conversation. Despite these reports, the administrator did not initiate an investigation or notify the state agency when first informed of the missing money. The Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) stated that he/she was aware of the resident’s report of missing money several months earlier and had asked the administrator if assistance was needed, but the administrator responded, “the less you know the better,” and the ADON heard nothing further. The administrator later acknowledged being told about the missing money, though not the exact amount, and admitted he/she did not investigate or report the allegation to the Department of Health and Senior Services at that time, stating he/she should have done so. The facility’s Abuse Prohibition Protocol required that allegations of abuse, neglect, misappropriation, or exploitation be thoroughly investigated with documented resident, staff, and witness statements, environmental review, physical assessment, and a timeline of events. These required investigative steps were not initiated when the allegation was first reported, leading to a prolonged period during which the resident’s missing funds were not addressed in accordance with facility policy and regulatory expectations. When the Director of Operations (DOP) was later informed by SSD D that the resident and family had repeatedly reported the missing $1700 and that the administrator had been previously notified without action, the DOP began an investigation and notified the state agency. The DOP determined through interviews that the resident had $1700 in cash at admission and had given it to a staff member, but the funds were never deposited into the resident’s account. The corporate financial representative and BOM also interviewed the resident, who again reported bringing $1700 in cash at admission, taking it to the office, and giving it to a staff member whose name he/she could not recall, though the resident could identify the office location. Former SSD E denied receiving any cash from the resident and stated that if he/she had, it would have been secured in the facility safe with a witness. Overall, the documented events show that the facility failed to safeguard the resident’s funds and failed to promptly and thoroughly investigate and report the allegation of misappropriation as required by its own abuse and misappropriation protocols.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
A resident with cerebral infarction and cognitive communication deficit gave $280 to the Medical Records Manager after staff were asked to clean his apartment before discharge. Although the Administrator said the facility would pay staff and the resident would have no out-of-pocket expense, the Medical Records Manager accepted the money, placed it in her work bag, and did not refuse it at the time. Transportation staff reported seeing the exchange, and the DON later confirmed the funds had been returned to the resident.
An RN diverted controlled medications belonging to two residents, including pain meds ordered for a resident with dementia and a resident with multiple fractures and cognitive deficits. The RN was stopped by police after leaving work and was found with facility medications in the residents’ names. The DON stated that prior narcotic counts relied on matching log sheets and counting individual contents, and staff did not detect the missing meds because the corresponding narcotic logs were also absent.
Misappropriation of Resident Property: A resident with multiple chronic conditions and mild cognitive impairment had a debit card stolen and used without authorization by a facility employee. The resident’s daughter reported the missing card, the Administrator confirmed the unauthorized charge, and police later identified the employee using the card and arrested her.
An LPN documented PRN pain meds as given to multiple residents, but residents said they had not requested or received them. For one resident, pain assessments and blood levels were inconsistent with the MAR entries, and similar concerns were identified for several other residents involving controlled PRN meds.
A resident with moderate cognitive impairment and chronic pain had an oxycodone/APAP order with two 30-count cards received. Staff accounts showed the narcotic count sheet was altered, signatures were written on it, and the original paperwork was discarded. One CMA said she destroyed the wrong medication after believing it was discontinued and admitted she did not complete the required checks or have a second staff member present. The medication, card, and count sheet were never found after searches of the cart, trash, shred bins, and dumpster.
An employee admitted to taking money from petty cash and the Resident Trust cash box, and an audit confirmed shortages in both accounts. The employee self-reported the theft, and the record review documented the missing funds and the discrepancy between the ledger totals and the cash on hand.
Misappropriation of Resident Funds by Staff Member
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect a resident from misappropriation of personal funds when the Medical Records Manager accepted $280 from Resident #60 for cleaning his personal apartment. The facility’s policy defined misappropriation of resident property as the deliberate misplacement, exploitation, or wrongful temporary or permanent use of a resident’s belongings or money without the resident’s consent, and the facility’s code of ethics prohibited accepting gifts or gratuities from a patient or family member. Resident #60 was admitted with diagnoses including cerebral infarction and cognitive communication deficit, and a quarterly MDS dated 3/11/26 indicated he was cognitively intact. The Administrator had asked the Activities Director and the former Medical Records Manager to clean the resident’s apartment before discharge, and the Administrator stated the facility would pay them so the resident would have no out-of-pocket expense. Despite this, the resident was later taken to the Medical Records Manager’s home while transportation staff were involved in moving him between locations related to his apartment and rent arrangements. Multiple staff accounts described the resident handing money to the Medical Records Manager at her home on 4/17/26. The Transportation Assistant stated she saw the resident reach into his pocket and give the Medical Records Manager money, and the Transportation Director stated the resident told him the money was because they were supposed to paint his apartment. The Medical Records Manager stated she accepted the money, put it in her work bag, and did not return it at the time. The DON stated the Medical Records Manager later returned $280 to the facility, and the money was counted back to the resident with a signed receipt. The facility’s investigation concluded the Medical Records Manager had accepted money from the resident, and the report identified this as the deficient practice.
Controlled medications from two residents were diverted by an RN
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect residents from the wrongful use of their belongings or money when a staff RN diverted controlled medications belonging to two residents. Resident 68 was admitted with diagnoses including a right humerus fracture, pneumonia, and dementia, and had orders for Pregabalin and oxyCODONE for pain. Resident 73 was admitted with diagnoses including multiple left rib fractures, a left clavicle fracture, a history of traumatic brain injury, and cognitive communication deficit, and had an order for oxyCODONE-acetaminophen for pain. On 1/15/26, the State Survey Agency received a facility-reported incident stating that an RN was stopped by police after leaving work and was found in possession of medications from the facility in the names of the two residents. The facility stated the medications were returned and that the residents did not miss doses. The incident involved Resident 68’s Pregabalin and oxyCODONE and Resident 73’s oxyCODONE, which had been removed from the facility while the RN was working the night shift. The DON stated that prior to the incident, narcotic counts were based on reconciling the narcotic log sheet and manually counting individual contents in blister cards or patches, but the total units of narcotics in the cart were not manually counted. The DON also stated that discontinued narcotics were kept in the medication cart until collected for destruction, and staff did not notice the missing medications for Residents 68 and 73 during shift change counts because the corresponding narcotic log sheets were also absent.
Misappropriation of Resident Property
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect a resident from misappropriation of property when the resident’s bank card was stolen and used without authorization by a facility staff member. The resident, who was admitted with diagnoses including diabetes mellitus, C. difficile enterocolitis, congestive heart failure, hyperlipidemia, ischemic cardiomyopathy, muscle wasting, hypertension, and GERD, also had mild cognitive impairment per the MDS. The resident was discharged from the facility on 3/7/26. The facility’s incident report documented that the resident’s daughter reported the debit card was missing, and the Administrator later stated that the daughter reported unauthorized use of the card. The Administrator said the card was used for a one-time $30 charge, and the incident had already been reported to police. The Administrator further stated that police later came to the facility and showed images of an employee using the resident’s card without authorization, and the employee was arrested on the spot. The facility’s Abuse Prevention and Reporting policy stated its purpose was to prevent abuse, neglect, exploitation, misappropriation of property, deprivation of goods and services by staff, and mistreatment of residents.
PRN Medications Documented as Given but Not Actually Administered
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure the safety and security of resident property, specifically PRN medication, after it was discovered that an LPN was not actually giving PRN medications to assigned residents even though the medications were being documented as administered on the MAR. During the survey process, residents were asked about their PRN medication needs and use, and multiple residents stated they had not requested those medications despite the charting showing they had been given. This led the facility to investigate whether diversion was occurring. For Resident #64, the facility reviewed the MAR and pain assessments and found that the resident’s daily pain was generally documented as zero to one out of ten, while the PRN pain scale entries on the days in question showed pain levels of five to seven out of ten before medication administration and zero out of ten afterward. The facility also obtained blood work with the resident’s permission, which showed only trace amounts of pain medication in the resident’s system, inconsistent with the documented administrations. Similar concerns were identified for other residents, including Residents #1, #15, #39, #56, and #65, involving controlled PRN pain medications.
Missing Narcotic Medication and Altered Count Record
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect a resident from misappropriation of property when a prescribed narcotic medication became missing from the facility. Resident #6 had moderate cognitive impairment with a BIMS score of 12 and diagnoses including intervertebral disk degeneration with lumbar and lower extremity pain. The resident had an order for oxycodone/acetaminophen 10/325 mg, 1 tablet by mouth twice daily, and the MAR and narcotic record showed two separate 30-count medication cards were received for the resident. The narcotic record and staff interviews showed that the medication count became inconsistent after the medication cards were handled on the medication cart. One staff member stated she received two narcotic cards for the resident and counted 60 tablets total with another nurse at shift change. Another staff member later stated she found the count sheet incorrect and reported that the count was off by a whole card of 30 tablets. The staff accounts also showed that the count sheet had been altered, with signatures written on it and the original paperwork no longer available. Staff interviews further showed that one CMA stated she destroyed the wrong narcotic medication after believing it had been discontinued in the EHR, and she admitted she did not complete the required checks before destroying it. She stated she removed the tablets, discarded the bubble pack in the medication cart trash, and placed the top of the medication card in the shred bin. Other staff stated narcotic destruction required two nursing staff present, but the medication and related paperwork for the resident were not found after searches of the carts, trash, shred bins, and dumpster. The Administrator stated the resident’s oxycodone/acetaminophen prescription had to be replaced because the medication was never found and had been removed from the facility.
Misappropriation of Resident Funds by Employee
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect resident funds from misappropriation when an employee admitted to taking $40.00 from petty cash and $240.00 from the Resident Trust cash. The incident occurred when the employee called to self-report that she had borrowed the money from both accounts. A statement from the employee confirmed the taking of the funds, and an audit of the financial records showed discrepancies in both the petty cash and Resident Trust cash box balances. The record review showed the petty cash General Ledger total was $200.00 while the actual cash counted was $159.65, with a cash withdrawal of $40.35 noted. The Resident Trust Cash Box General Ledger total was $250.00 while the actual cash counted was $10.00, with a cash withdrawal of $240.00 noted. The corporate Senior Financial Analyst later reviewed the accounts and found no additional missing funds. The report also states that the employee was terminated and a police report was filed after the theft was reported.
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