Police recently arrested an aide in a California nursing home for inappropriately touching a resident and for elder abuse. The alleged offenses were performed in front of another employee who contacted the police.
According to a lieutenant with the local police, “Officers contacted the witness and the suspect. The suspect was a nurse assistant, and the victim was a resident at the care center.” The aide was arrested after the police interviews for elder abuse and sexual battery.
The facility issued this statement to the news media:
“[name of facility] takes all matters regarding the conduct of employees, as well as the safety of our patients, seriously. Moreover, the allegations made against this former team member do not reflect the values we hold at our facility. Our priority remains to provide the highest level of care for the patient and their families. This matter is actively being investigated by local law enforcement, and we do not want to interfere with that investigation and are deferring any comment at this time. We can state, on notification of the incident, our leadership team contacted local authorities and took immediate steps to protect all residents. Additionally, we request all media sources respect the rights of all patients, their families, visitors, and staff, and specifically request all media to refrain from taking photos or images of anyone at the [name of facility]. We will provide an update after local authorities have completed the investigations and shared their findings.”
Police detectives have indicated that they are continuing the investigation because they believe there may be more victims.
Compliance Perspective
Failing to prevent a staff member from touching residents inappropriately may be considered sexual assault and abuse, and infringe on residents’ rights to be free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation, in violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures regarding careful screening of potential employees prior to their being hired to help ensure that persons with aberrant behaviors are not employed.
- Train staff regarding abuse, neglect, and exploitation and the importance of reporting any observed or suspected incidents immediately to their supervisor or through the Hotline.
- Periodically audit by talking with residents to determine if any staff have touched them inappropriately or they have observed staff touching other residents in an improper way.
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