Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced on November 21, 2023, that a 58-year-old woman was charged with Second-Degree Vulnerable Adult Abuse related to the December 2022 death by exposure of an 82-year-old woman. The charge is a 4-year felony.
At the time she died, the victim was under the defendant’s care at an assisted living facility in Clinton County where the defendant was employed.
During the very early morning hours of December 23, 2022, the defendant twice observed the victim attempt to go outside without appropriate attire into a blizzard with single-digit temperatures, subzero windchill, and blowing and drifting snow. A snowplow driver found the victim in the parking lot around 7 a.m., partially buried in snow. It is unknown precisely how long she was outside before she was found. The victim was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital but died due to hypothermia shortly after arrival.
The charge against the defendant alleges that, as a caregiver, she recklessly failed to act to prevent the victim from going outdoors into the storm, resulting in her death.
“Caregivers have a responsibility under the law to act in the face of grave danger to a vulnerable person in their care,” said Nessel.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Facilities are responsible for identifying and assessing a resident’s risk for leaving the facility without notification to staff and developing interventions to address this risk. Facilities should have policies that clearly define the mechanisms and procedures for assessing or identifying, monitoring, and managing residents at risk for elopement. This can help to minimize the risk of a resident leaving a safe area without the facility’s awareness and/or appropriate supervision. Early assessment is key. All residents should be assessed on admission and at least quarterly thereafter. An additional risk assessment should be performed after there is any change in a resident’s condition. The resident at risk should have interventions in his or her comprehensive plan of care to address the potential for elopement. Staff need to be able to show documentation that the policies were implemented. Furthermore, a facility’s disaster and emergency preparedness plan should include a plan to locate a missing resident.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures regarding prevention of and response to resident elopement to determine if any changes should be implemented. Also review policies and procedures for ensuring provision of adequate monitoring, sufficient staffing, and that there is adequate security to prevent residents from wandering away from the facility.
- Train staff regarding the importance of providing adequate monitoring and care for the residents. Conduct elopement drills to ensure staff on all shifts know how to competently respond.
- Periodically audit to ensure that residents’ elopement risk assessments are completed at the time of admission and updated periodically and as needed. Also audit to ensure that staff are performing assigned checks of residents.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
