Disgruntled Former Nursing Home Employee Tries to Interrupt Residents’ Care
A former employee of an Ohio nursing home, who police described as “disgruntled,” attempted to interfere with staffing of the facility through an unusual and rather diabolical scheme.
Police report that the woman is accused of contacting the temporary nurse staffing agency used by the nursing home with the intention of disrupting the level of staffing that would be provided by the agency. She called the agency, posed as the nursing home administrator, and cancelled some of the nurses and aides who were scheduled to work. Fortunately, one of the nursing aides scheduled to work contacted the nursing home directly to ask why she was cancelled. That call enabled the nursing home to investigate and discover what the accused had done in time to prevent the cancellations from causing the facility to be under-staffed and potentially placing the residents in jeopardy of not getting the care they needed. It could also have placed the facility in a position of being non-compliant with state and federal mandatory staffing levels.
The woman turned herself in after being charged with one count of attempted identity theft and pleaded not guilty to the charge. She was released on her own recognizance and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in late November.
The accused quit her job at the nursing home after she was suspended.
Compliance Perspective
Failing to have protocols in place that prevent unauthorized persons from retaliating against the facility by posing as administration in order to attempt to disrupt staffing levels could be considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to determine if adequate security protocols are in place to prevent an unauthorized person from interfering in the scheduling of nursing staff by posing as a person authorized to order to cancel scheduled nursing staff.
- Train regular and agency staff regarding always verifying any unexpected changes in staff scheduling with the nursing home.
- Periodically audit to determine if adequate protocols are in place with agency staffing providers to prevent unauthorized persons from interfering with agreed upon staffing levels.
