Compliance Perspective – Elder Abuse:
T
he Privacy Officer should investigate the claim that not only were there two instances where videos were placed on social media, but also to discover the others that were reported. Staff should be trained regarding the residents’ rights to privacy and instructed about the facility’s policy and procedures that forbid the use of personal recording devices and social media involving residents. Posters should be placed around the facility calling attention to these restrictions.
Two female nursing home employees were accused of abusing residents in a nursing home and then posting videos showing what they had done on Snapchat. When relatives of the residents became aware of the videos, they contacted the police about them.
The women claimed that “it was just a joke” and that the residents “just wanted some laughs.” One of the videos according to the prosecutor, showed the residents being asked about sex and smoking marijuana, and in another one of the women scared a resident by yelling at her while she is sound asleep.
The person who tipped off the administrators was a friend of the two ex-employees. The friend also reported that there had been other videos made but those were not as disturbing as these were.
One of the women was charged with “permitting abuse on an elderly or disabled person” and the other one was “charged with assault and battery on an elderly or disable person and permitting abuse on an elderly or disabled person.” Both the women were arraigned in District Court.
The pair were freed with the requirement that are not allowed to work in any healthcare facility with elderly residents or patients. They were also instructed not to have any contact with the victims in the case. They have a court date in the fall.
The nursing home management issued this statement: “It was reported to management that two individual employees used a cell phone to video residents and shared the videos with some of their contacts on social media. Management immediately started an investigation, which included the suspension of the employees alleged to be involved.
The investigation revealed that the employees violated the nursing home’s strict policies concerning patient safety and the privacy of three residents and as a result, these individuals were terminated. We were able to confirm that no private health information, such as names or clinical information was captured on the videos.”
