A lawsuit has been filed against an Iowa assisted living facility for wrongful death, negligence, dependent adult abuse, breach of contract, and for failing to provide management and oversight of staff. Also named in the suit is a former registered nurse (RN) who worked at the facility. The suit arises from the death of a resident in September 2020, and was filed by the executor of the estate, who is the deceased’s nephew.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in March 2022, the facility failed to provide care, treatment, and services, and full nursing assessments. It also failed to prevent pressure injuries and falls. Additionally, the lawsuit claims that the facility failed to provide reliable charting which included documentation of care and properly administering medication and nutrition. The lawsuit claims that as a result of this negligence, the resident suffered unnecessary or preventable treatable health conditions which ultimately resulted in her untimely death.
The RN who was employed at the facility at the time of the resident’s death has been criminally charged with eight counts of forgery and one count of dependent adult abuse. According to the lawsuit and criminal complaints, she is accused of making unauthorized charges on the resident’s credit card and also of having forged several checks from the resident’s account. She is accused of stealing over $13,600 from the resident.
The former RN had been the resident’s primary caregiver at the facility and had used the resident’s Amazon account to ship almost $1000 in personal items to her own home. She would take the resident grocery shopping and then pocket any cash advances which had been withdrawn. She also forged checks ranging from $150 to $2000 which she used for her own expenses.
The Iowa Board of Nursing has charged the former RN with soliciting, borrowing, or misappropriating money or property from a patient, regardless of patient consent. The Board has indefinitely suspended the former RN’s license pending receipt of a mental health evaluation and other requirements. Each of her criminal charges is a Class D felony which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Issue:
All nursing facilities are required to protect residents from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It is a violation of federal and state regulations for any persons, including facility staff, volunteers, visitors, family members or guardians, or another resident, to exploit or misappropriate a resident’s funds or personal property, or to allow neglect to occur. A facility is required to report any allegations of misappropriation or exploitation of a resident’s funds or personal property or any occurrences of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation to local authorities and to the State Agency. Additionally, staff should be knowledgeable of requirements for proper documentation in medical records. Failing to document properly can lead to accusations of negligence and potential charges of submission of false claims.
Discussion Points:
- Review your policies and procedures on preventing financial abuse and exploitation and residents’ rights to be free of abuse, neglect, and misappropriation. Additionally, review your policies and procedures on documentation in medical records. Update your policies if needed.
- Train all staff on your policies and procedures for preventing financial abuse and exploitation and identifying and reporting concerns of abuse, neglect, or misappropriation. Additionally train staff on your policies for proper documentation in medical records. Document that these trainings occurred, and file the signed document in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically conduct audits to ensure staff understand what constitutes financial abuse and exploitation, and identification of abuse, neglect, and misappropriation, and that they know what to do if they suspect any of these violations have occurred. Additionally, periodically audit medical records to ensure that documentation is accurate and complete.
