A 70-year-old custodian in a New Hampshire nursing home recently pleaded guilty to inappropriately touching an 86-year-old female resident in the memory-care unit of the facility. The man was charged with one count of simple assault and was sentenced to one year at a county corrections facility. However, it was recommended that the man be allowed to serve his sentence on administrative home confinement. Additionally, the man was ordered not to have any further contact with the victim, her family, or a witness. He was also ordered not to seek or accept employment with any company serving elderly or incapacitated individuals.
The CEO of the facility previously indicated that the incident was reported to the facility’s management by another employee in the housekeeping department. He said that the accused employee was removed from the building and after the incident was investigated, the employee was terminated. The allegations were consequently reported to the local police and to the Office of the New Hampshire Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
Under New Hampshire statutes, it is the state attorney general’s responsibility to prosecute healthcare employees who are charged with willful abuse, mistreatment, or neglect of a patient/resident.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to ensure that residents are free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation may indicate a need for greater staff monitoring of residents with diminished mental capacity, and may be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding protocols for monitoring interactions between staff and residents with diminished mental capacities, and determine if improvements are needed.
- Train all staff on abuse, neglect, and exploitation requirements and protocols for monitoring residents with diminished mental capacity to prevent assaults and other injury by staff or other residents. Also, train employees to immediately report any suspected or observed incident to a supervisor or through the Hotline.
- Periodically audit to ensure that incidents reported either to a supervisor or through the facility’s Hotline are thoroughly investigated, that needed corrective actions are taken, and that proper authorities are notified.
