Four Assisted Living Employees Charged with Endangering Residents—Allowing One Resident to Wander Away in Freezing Weather
Three personal care assistants and a medical technician have been charged by the New York Attorney General for allegedly abandoning the care of a vulnerable elderly resident in an assisted living center. The 87-year-old resident, wearing only her nightgown, exited the facility through an emergency exit, and wandered away from the facility in December 2017. She remained outside for hours in freezing temperatures. When she was found, she was nearly unconscious and suffering from hypothermia, bruising, and frostbite.
One of the defendants on the overnight shift allegedly slept for four-and-a-half hours, leaving the residential hall he was supposed to monitor unattended. The three other defendants were at the nurse’s station located on the wing of the facility where the resident resided. They are alleged to have muted or ignored the alarms that went off when the resident wandered out of the building through the exit doors. They also took their breaks at the same time and left the facility unmonitored, knowing that the other defendant was fast asleep and not performing his duty.
The four defendants were each charged with felony Endangering the Welfare of a Vulnerable Elderly Person in the Second Degree and misdemeanor Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent Person in the Second Degree. The four each face from one to four years in prison if convicted of the felony charge.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to guarantee that staff are alert, monitoring, and caring for the needs of the residents, and ensuring that call bells and alarms receive prompt attention, and failure to prevent residents from wandering outside the facility without proper clothing, and in freezing temperatures may be considered abuse and neglect that places residents in “immediate jeopardy,” and the provision of sub-standard quality of care in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding the provision of supervisory staff—including weekends and holidays—to oversee and prevent staff from neglecting their responsibilities to monitor and provide the care required for the residents, including prevention of residents from wandering away from the facility and being endangered.
- Train staff about abuse, neglect, and the potential for placing residents in immediate jeopardy due to failing to perform their responsibilities of monitoring, providing care, and responding to alarms.
- Periodically audit by visiting the facility during times when supervision of staff may tend in question, such as at nighttime, on a weekend, or a holiday.
