Failure to Protect Resident From Sexual Abuse by Another Resident
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to protect a resident from sexual abuse by another resident. A cognitively moderately impaired resident with hemiplegia, weakness, and impaired mobility reported to her spouse that, in the early morning hours, a male resident entered her room in his wheelchair while she was sitting on the side of her bed without pants and touched her genital area. The resident stated she slapped the male resident, who then left her room. The spouse notified facility staff of the allegation later that day, and the Assistant DON performed a skin assessment, finding no injuries. The DON obtained a statement from the resident, who reiterated that the male resident had entered her room and touched her privates without permission. Review of facility camera footage by the DON and the administrator showed the male resident entering the resident’s room at approximately the reported time and exiting a short time later. The administrator and DON interviewed the male resident, who admitted entering the room without permission and touching the resident in the perineal area, and stated it would not happen again. Record review showed that the abused resident required partial to moderate assistance with ADLs, including toileting, bathing, dressing, and personal hygiene, and had a BIMS score indicating moderately impaired cognition. The male resident who committed the abuse had a diagnosis of unspecified dementia with severely impaired cognition (BIMS score of 3) and required substantial to maximal assistance with several ADLs. Despite the facility’s written Abuse Prevention Program and Resident Rights policies, which guarantee residents freedom from abuse, neglect, and exploitation, the facility did not prevent the male resident from entering the female resident’s room and sexually touching her, resulting in a substantiated incident of sexual abuse.
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