F0609 F609: Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
D

Failure to Submit Abuse Investigation Results Within Required Timeframe

Springfield Health & RehabSpringfield, Vermont Survey Completed on 02-17-2026

Summary

The facility failed to submit the results of an abuse/neglect investigation to the State Survey Agency within the required five working days. An online self-report of alleged staff-to-resident neglect/abuse for an incident that occurred on 11/3/25 was submitted to the State Survey Agency on 11/5/25. However, the State Survey Agency did not receive the facility’s investigation report within five working days of the alleged incident as required. During an interview on 2/17/26, the Administrator stated that the facility’s investigation summary was sent on 11/10/26 and provided an email receipt. Review of the email receipt showed that the summary was sent to an incorrect email address, and the Administrator confirmed that the address used was not the correct one for submitting a facility’s investigation summary. The facility’s own Abuse Prevention and Prohibition Program policy, revised 12/2025, requires the Administrator to provide the State Survey Agency, law enforcement, and the Ombudsman with a copy of the investigative report within five days of the incident.

Penalty

No penalty information released
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The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.

Resources

Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:

See other F0609 citations
Failure to Report Alleged Misappropriation
D
F0609 F609: Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Short Summary

Failure to report an alleged misappropriation of resident funds. A resident with COPD, anxiety, and PTSD reported $1,600 missing and believed another resident took it, but the SSD reportedly said it was too long ago to investigate. The CNO recalled hearing about missing funds from a family member but did not pursue it, and the CEO stated the allegation should have been reported to the State Agency.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Report Alleged Sexual Abuse Within Required Timeframe
J
F0609 F609: Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Short Summary

Failure to report alleged sexual abuse within required timeframe. A resident with intact cognition and significant ADL dependence alleged that a CNA raped them during incontinence care; the resident later described possible penetration and burning, while the CNA said they only provided brief care and applied ointment. The family member contacted law enforcement and requested hospital transfer, but facility leadership did not report the allegation to DOH within 2 hours, stating they believed the allegation had changed to rough handling and did not meet the reporting threshold.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Immediately Report Abuse Allegations and Injury of Unknown Origin
E
F0609 F609: Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Short Summary

Failure to Immediately Report Abuse Allegations and Injury of Unknown Origin: Staff did not immediately report two resident-to-resident sexual abuse incidents involving one resident touching two others, and staff also did not immediately report bruising of unknown origin on another resident. A CNA redirected the resident during the abuse incidents but did not notify the charge nurse, DON, or Administrator, and an RN and LPN did not escalate the bruising after assessing it and hearing it described as handprint-like. The delayed reporting prevented timely initiation of the abuse investigation process and resident assessment.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Report Alleged Physical Abuse
D
F0609 F609: Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Short Summary

Failure to Report Alleged Physical Abuse: A resident alleged that two CNAs were rough while repositioning them in bed and that the resident’s head was bumped into the headboard, causing pain. One CNA confirmed the head bump occurred during care, and the administrator stated the abuse allegation and failure to report were substantiated because the staff did not report the incident immediately.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Timely Report Allegation of Abuse
D
F0609 F609: Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Short Summary

Failure to Timely Report Allegation of Abuse: A nurse witnessed one resident touch another resident inappropriately, but the incident was not reported within the required timeframe. The LPN separated the residents and addressed boundaries with the resident involved, but did not report the event because she believed the RN would notify the DON. The DON and Administrator later stated the incident had not been reported immediately as required.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Failure to Immediately Report Verbal Abuse Allegation
D
F0609 F609: Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to proper authorities.
Short Summary

Failure to Immediately Report Verbal Abuse Allegation: A CNA was heard using foul and disrespectful language toward a cognitively impaired resident during care, but the allegation was not reported immediately to the DON/Administrator. The witness delayed reporting for several hours, and the DON, ADON, and Administrator confirmed the report was not made until later that morning. The resident had severe cognitive impairment, was dependent on staff for care, and received nutrition via GT.

No penalty information released
tooltip icon
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
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