Failure to Protect Resident from Misappropriation of Personal Funds
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to protect a resident’s right to be free from misappropriation of personal funds after a cognitively intact resident mistakenly transferred $300.00 to a nurse aide via a money transfer application. The resident, who had been admitted earlier and assessed as cognitively intact on a quarterly MDS, initially used the aide’s account to send $120.00 for groceries, which the aide purchased and delivered with a receipt. The following day, the resident accidentally transferred an additional $300.00 intended for a relative’s rent to the same aide’s account. When the aide next worked, the resident informed her of the mistake and requested the $300.00 be returned, explaining his hand coordination issues and shaky hands caused the error. The aide acknowledged to the resident that the $300.00 had already been withdrawn due to her overdrawn account and told him she would repay him when she received her paycheck. Despite the resident’s repeated requests, including attempts to negotiate partial repayment of $200.00 and then $150.00 through the money transfer application and in person, the aide did not return any of the funds during this period. The aide did not immediately notify the Director of Nursing or the Administrator when she became aware of the mistaken transfer, even though she had been educated not to take money from residents for any reason. The resident’s transaction history on the money transfer application corroborated the payments and multiple unfulfilled requests for repayment. The deficiency was further compounded when the resident reported the issue to the Social Worker, who did not act promptly on the allegation. The resident informed the Social Worker that he had inadvertently sent $300.00 to the aide and that the aide’s account was negative, with a promise of repayment after the aide’s paycheck. The Social Worker doubted the resident’s account and chose to wait to see if the aide would return the money, delaying notification to the Administrator until several days later. Additionally, as of a later date, the State Agency had not received an initial report from the facility regarding the allegation of misappropriation involving this resident and the aide, despite the incident meeting the criteria for such reporting.
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