Failure to Safeguard Resident Funds from Misappropriation by Staff
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to protect a resident’s money from misappropriation when a social service employee maintained possession of the resident’s wallet and bank card and the resident’s funds were used for unauthorized transactions. The resident, who had diagnoses including epilepsy, congestive heart failure, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder, but was documented as cognitively intact on the MDS, reported having over $4000 in their checking account after being notified that a check written to the facility had been returned for insufficient funds. When the Business Office Manager (BOM) assisted the resident in reviewing their finances, it was discovered that the resident did not have their bank card or wallet in their possession and stated that the social service employee had it. The BOM located the wallet in the social service employee’s desk, and when the wallet was returned to the resident, the bank card was missing. With the BOM present, the resident contacted their financial institutions via speakerphone and granted permission for the BOM to participate in the calls. Bank staff reported that the resident’s credit card payment in the amount of $6303.17 had been made from the resident’s account, causing an overdraft and resulting in the returned check. The bank also listed multiple transactions on the resident’s bank card with various retailers, gas stations, and an airline that the resident disputed. During these calls, the financial institution indicated they had been tracking the social service employee for a cash advance with invalid data. Another staff member, the MDS Coordinator/LPN, overheard the speakerphone conversations and understood that someone was stealing from the resident. The facility’s own abuse, neglect, and exploitation policy defined misappropriation of resident property as the wrongful use of a resident’s belongings or money without consent and identified resident reports of theft or missing property as possible indicators of abuse, which were present in this situation.
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