Reporting abuse, neglect, or exploitation
One of the top reasons why seniors move into assisted living facilities is the comfort of safety and peace of mind. Unfortunately, there are times when a resident is placed in a situation where that safety is taken away in the form of abuse or neglect. Although facilities do their best to vet employees and ensure they are hiring people they can entrust with the care of their residents there are ultimately times when a less than respectable person slips through the cracks. If a resident in your facility is expected to have been a victim of abuse, neglect or exploitation you must adhere to the following regulation provided by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services:
NAC 449.262 Provision of dental, optical, and hearing care and social services; report of suspected abuse, neglect, isolation or exploitation; restrictions on use of restraints, confinement or sedatives. (NRS 449.0302)
1. The administrator of a residential facility shall ensure that residents are provided with or are assisted in obtaining dental and optical care, treatment for hearing and hearing impairment and social services. The employees of the facility shall maintain a record of the services or assistance provided pursuant to this subsection.
2. If an employee of the facility suspects that a resident is being abused, neglected, isolated or exploited, the employee shall report that fact in the manner prescribed in NRS 200.5093.
3. The members of the staff of a residential facility shall not:
(a) Use restraints on any resident;
(b) Lock a resident in a room inside the facility; or
(c) Provide sedatives to a resident unless that sedative has been prescribed for that resident by a physician to treat specific symptoms. A caregiver shall make a record of the behavior of a resident who has been prescribed a sedative.
Tip:
If a resident has reported an abuse allegation you must take it seriously! Immediately contact the staff member in question of abuse and interview them regarding their side of the situation. I also highly suggest suspending this employee pending investigation in order to remove them from the situation while you gather facts and continue the reporting process.