Failure to Protect a Resident From Misappropriation of Personal Property and to Conduct Required Investigation
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to protect a resident from misappropriation of personal property and to follow its abuse and misappropriation investigation and reporting policies. On 01/07/26, the facility was made aware that a resident (R29) was missing multiple personal items, including a cell phone, cell phone charger, wallet containing $80.00, tennis shoes, two grabbers, and a wicker/wooden box with household items such as keys. The facility’s own policies stated that residents have the right to be free from misappropriation of property and that all reports of misappropriation must be promptly reported to local, state, and federal agencies and thoroughly investigated. Despite this, the facility did not protect the resident from misappropriation, did not report the allegation to the State Agency, and did not begin an investigation until 01/09/26. When the surveyor reviewed a complaint submitted to the State Agency by the resident’s family member on 01/08/26, the family member confirmed the list of missing items and stated she had filed two grievances with the facility and also reported the incident to law enforcement. Review of the facility’s grievance log for the prior three months showed only one grievance for this resident, dated 10/06/25, unrelated to missing property, and the facility did not provide its grievance policy when requested. Over several days, the surveyor repeatedly requested the facility’s internal investigation of the missing property; the facility did not provide any investigation documentation until 01/13/26, at which time only a single Grievance/Complaint form dated 01/07/26 was produced. That form showed the grievance was assigned on 01/09/26 and documented that staff searched the resident’s room and laundry and were waiting for the daughter to call back to make a plan to replace items. The facility was unable to locate the missing property and did not provide any additional information indicating that required interviews or a thorough investigation had been conducted.
We Help Long-Term Care Teams Stay Survey-Ready
We process and analyze inspection reports and plan of correction using AI to extract insights and trends so providers can improve care quality and stay ahead of compliance risks.