Caregiver in New Jersey Assisted Living Center Caught on
Camera Abusing Resident
Every healthcare provider has a legal responsibility to protect its residents/patients from abuse by other residents, staff members, visitors, or privately hired caregivers
Compliance Perspective – Physical Abuse
Policies/Procedures: The Compliance and Ethics Officer with the Director of Nursing and Administrator will review policies and procedures involving the use of privately employed caregivers.
Training: The Compliance and Ethics Officer, as well as every department head, will ensure that staff are trained to respond in a timely manner to concerns about possible abuse being inflicted on residents by privately hired caregivers and others. The policy and procedure on use of privately employed caregivers will be explained to residents/families at the time of admission, when questions arise, and posted on a bulletin board available to family members.
Audit: The Compliance and Ethics Officer with the Director of Nursing should personally conduct an audit regarding privately employed caregivers to ensure that they are qualified and that appropriate background checks have been performed.
STAFF SENSITIVITY TOWARD RESIDENTS
Police charges have been filed for the first time against a home health aide in a New Jersey assisted living center resulting from micro-surveillance with a “Safe Care Cam” unit. The camera captured the caregiver physically assaulting a 90-year-old resident who is bedridden and unable to speak due to a stroke.
The caregiver was not an employee of the facility but had been hired by the resident’s daughter to provide private care for her mother. She was charged with assault and endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.
The video the resident’s daughter gave to the police showed the caregiver slapping the resident’s hand and roughly pushing her head back onto a pillow several times as the resident tried to sit up and reach for something outside the camera’s view.
The caregiver was registered with the New York Department of Health as a certified home health aide, but was not registered by the New Jersey Board of Nursing. The caregiver was coming into the building and signing in as a visitor.
A spokesperson for the assisted living center noted that the center has procedures to help families hire certified private-duty home health aides and obtain cameras.
