Failure to Protect Residents’ Privacy of Mail
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure residents’ mail was delivered unopened, as required by resident rights materials stating that mail must be delivered and sent promptly and may not be opened without the resident’s permission. During interviews, one resident reported that their mail had been opened on at least one occasion and that they had reported this to the Administrator in Training. Another resident stated that staff opened their packages and envelopes “all the time,” not in the resident’s presence, and identified the Social Service Director as the person who usually opened them. In a subsequent interview, the Social Service Director acknowledged that she had opened residents’ mail and packages with scissors before delivering them to resident rooms, explaining that she did this so she would not have to bring scissors to the rooms, and confirmed that residents were not present and were not aware when their mail was opened.
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