Failure to Protect Abuse Reporter From Retaliation and Harassment
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to implement its abuse-prevention and anti-retaliation policies to protect an employee who reported alleged abuse of a resident. A dietary aide (Staff Q) reported witnessing a staff member pull Resident #4 by the wheelchair arm and tell the resident, “get your ugly *** out here,” and he immediately reported this to a Unit Manager, who then notified the Risk Manager. After making this report, Staff Q stated that staff spoke loudly about him in a threatening manner, made retaliatory remarks, refused to sign meal-tray forms, and used aggressive tones and profanity toward him. He reported ongoing harassment from both kitchen and nursing staff, but had difficulty identifying those involved because staff were not wearing name badges. Staff Q ultimately resigned by phone, stating he feared for his safety and reiterating that he could not positively identify all involved staff due to the lack of visible name badges. Multiple interviews with facility leadership and staff showed that no investigation into the reported harassment and retaliation was conducted, despite the facility’s written policy stating that the administrator ensures the person reporting suspected violations is protected from retaliation or reprisal. The Dietary Manager reported that when Staff Q told her he was resigning due to harassment after reporting abuse, she did not investigate the harassment herself but notified the Administrator and Risk Manager. The 3rd Floor Unit Manager acknowledged hearing that Staff Q resigned due to harassment but stated staff-to-staff harassment was outside her scope and should be handled by HR. The Risk Manager stated she attempted to contact Staff Q twice, was unable to reach him, and then unsubstantiated the abuse allegation without further investigation. The Administrator confirmed awareness that Staff Q reported being harassed but acknowledged that no investigation into the harassment occurred. A former dietary staff member (Staff R) also reported experiencing harassment from nursing and kitchen staff during his employment and stated he had reported it to HR, who told him to speak with his supervisor, who was allegedly involved in the harassment. The HR Director recalled a harassment report from Staff R, acknowledged uncertainty about the timeline, and admitted staff were “bad about wearing badges,” despite repeatedly instructing them to wear them.
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