Failure to Timely Report Allegation of Verbal Abuse to State Authorities
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that an allegation of verbal abuse was reported to the New York State Department of Health within the required time frames. During a recertification and abbreviated survey, record review and interviews showed that an Ombudsman informed the Director of Nursing that Resident #35 alleged a Nurse Practitioner verbally abused them. Despite this allegation, there was no documented evidence that the incident was reported to the Department of Health as required by regulation and by the facility’s own abuse reporting policies. Resident #35 had diagnoses of Paranoid Personality Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, with a recent assessment indicating intact cognition and a need for supervision to moderate assistance with ADLs and mobility. Documentation from the Nurse Practitioner and supervising Registered Nurse described an encounter in which they entered the resident’s room to provide requested lab results, after which the resident became agitated, verbally abusive, and refused to sign for receipt of the results, ultimately yelling at them to leave the room. This encounter formed the basis of the resident’s allegation of verbal abuse, yet the facility did not initiate the required external report of this alleged abuse to the state authority.
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