I would not talk to the person in question. I would go directly to the DON. In a facility the CNA is low man, her/his "boss" (in my daughter's instance) is the LPN. My daughter wrote them up. The LPN answers to the RN and the RN to the DON. Like said though, make sure the allegation is true. Have sister examined head to foot. Any falls, bruises, bed soars, skin tears, ect should be noted in the nurses notes.
Not sure when this abuse took place, but if it is physical and the LO has physical signs of abuse or marks on her body then I would take pictures right away before that evidence disappears.
It has been brought to your BIL by whom? In what way was your sister abused? This is crucial information. You will have to have solid proof, and this could either be a case for the administration of the facility or for the police, dependent on your answer. The amount of vetting being done in care facilities is VERY variable. Please give us more information. Having been a nurse I can tell you that I have seen both TRUE and very UNtrue accusations during my career. Hope you an tell us more. Other than that, RN61LTC has absolutely spot-on excellent info for you below.
Go to the Director of Nursing and/or the Administrator and report your concern without naming the source. Facilities do not tolerate abuse of any kind and the employee will be temporarily suspended immediately while the accusation is investigated. Depending on what the investigation discloses, the employee will terminated and reported to the state board of licensing, returned to work with limited responsibilities, returned to work in another unit, or allowed to return because the allegation was unsubstantiated. Generally, there are rotating staff who attend to your family member relative to their care needs, shifts, etc., so you need specifics. If you are unable to identify the person by name, get their description, i.e male or female, size, skin type, clothing, what they were doing at the time of the incident or any information that will help the facility locate the specific employee. Identify the day and the time. If you are unable to identify the time, determine an approximate time, such as before lunch, in the morning after personal care, etc. An allegation of abuse is very serious and facilities are generally already aware that an allegation has been made. They will have already filed a complaint, reported the allegation to the State agency and started an investigation. If they are unaware of the allegation, they WANT to know. Provide them with the details as far as you know them. The facility will advise you if this has already been reported and will advise of the results of the investigation to date. All staff are mandated reporters of abuse or suspected abuse and failure to report is grounds for termination. If this has not been reported, ask to file a formal complaint. All facilities have a complaint procedure and a specific one for abuse. Request a copy of the Abuse Policy, it defines what constitutes abuse and the facilities responsibility when abuse is alleged. After the close of the investigation (typically 3-5 days) if you believe the results are not accurate or in line with the Abuse Policy, contact the facility Ombudsman. The contact information for the Ombudsman is required to be posted in an accessible area of the facility, visible to all residents, family members and visitors. The Ombudsman is not affiliated with the facility and is not an agent for the facility. After review by the Ombudsman, if they agree with you and the facility defers to take additional action, the Ombudsman will report your allegation to the State agency for further investigation or will suggest that you report it to the State agency. That information is also required to be visibly posted in the facility under Elder Abuse Reporting or something similar. It varies by by state but is required to be posted under federal regulations which govern all Long Term Care facilities.
The dementia unit probably has a formal complaints procedure. Ask the most senior person on duty what it is, and follow it.
If you are not satisfied the unit's response, or have no confidence that they will follow their own procedure correctly, then contact the ombudsman for long term care in your locality (you can search for it online, and it should be fairly easy to find - if not, we can have a go at helping you with that).
Who brought this to your BIL's attention? If it was a member of staff who asked not to be identified, your BIL should be careful not to identify that person inadvertently in his formal complaint; and if that IS the case - the member of staff was anxious not to be identified - then I think I'd probably go straight to the ombudsman, because that would smell like an unhealthy working culture.
But first, before making any claims, you need to validate the information, w/o contacting anyone at the facility.
I assume your BIL told you about the alleged abuse? Who told him? What role does this person play, either in the facility or otherwise? What proof is there? Do you have details on the events? Were there witnesses, and if so, staff or visitors?
I'm not challenging the issue, but hearsay accusations need to have validation before any accusations are made.
After that, and after speaking as Sofia suggests, address the staff. If you can do so, I would contact the administrator; go straight to the top before anyone can become aware that the action was witnessed. Ask for a meeting for a serious issue, but don't explain until you meet publicly, with someone you know as a witness.
There may also be a long term care ombudsperson who can accompany you or offer advice. That's who I contacted before our family met with the staff when my mother wasn't being properly treated in PT.
I'm so sorry to hear this. Contact the LTC ombudsdman first, then speak to the director and request that staff be taken off the case while the incident is being investigated.
In what way was your sister abused?
This is crucial information. You will have to have solid proof, and this could either be a case for the administration of the facility or for the police, dependent on your answer. The amount of vetting being done in care facilities is VERY variable. Please give us more information.
Having been a nurse I can tell you that I have seen both TRUE and very UNtrue accusations during my career.
Hope you an tell us more.
Other than that, RN61LTC has absolutely spot-on excellent info for you below.
Generally, there are rotating staff who attend to your family member relative to their care needs, shifts, etc., so you need specifics. If you are unable to identify the person by name, get their description, i.e male or female, size, skin type, clothing, what they were doing at the time of the incident or any information that will help the facility locate the specific employee. Identify the day and the time. If you are unable to identify the time, determine an approximate time, such as before lunch, in the morning after personal care, etc.
An allegation of abuse is very serious and facilities are generally already aware that an allegation has been made. They will have already filed a complaint, reported the allegation to the State agency and started an investigation. If they are unaware of the allegation, they WANT to know. Provide them with the details as far as you know them. The facility will advise you if this has already been reported and will advise of the results of the investigation to date. All staff are mandated reporters of abuse or suspected abuse and failure to report is grounds for termination.
If this has not been reported, ask to file a formal complaint. All facilities have a complaint procedure and a specific one for abuse. Request a copy of the Abuse Policy, it defines what constitutes abuse and the facilities responsibility when abuse is alleged.
After the close of the investigation (typically 3-5 days) if you believe the results are not accurate or in line with the Abuse Policy, contact the facility Ombudsman. The contact information for the Ombudsman is required to be posted in an accessible area of the facility, visible to all residents, family members and visitors. The Ombudsman is not affiliated with the facility and is not an agent for the facility. After review by the Ombudsman, if they agree with you and the facility defers to take additional action, the Ombudsman will report your allegation to the State agency for further investigation or will suggest that you report it to the State agency. That information is also required to be visibly posted in the facility under Elder Abuse Reporting or something similar. It varies by by state but is required to be posted under federal regulations which govern all Long Term Care facilities.
If you are not satisfied the unit's response, or have no confidence that they will follow their own procedure correctly, then contact the ombudsman for long term care in your locality (you can search for it online, and it should be fairly easy to find - if not, we can have a go at helping you with that).
Who brought this to your BIL's attention? If it was a member of staff who asked not to be identified, your BIL should be careful not to identify that person inadvertently in his formal complaint; and if that IS the case - the member of staff was anxious not to be identified - then I think I'd probably go straight to the ombudsman, because that would smell like an unhealthy working culture.
But first, before making any claims, you need to validate the information, w/o contacting anyone at the facility.
I assume your BIL told you about the alleged abuse? Who told him? What role does this person play, either in the facility or otherwise? What proof is there? Do you have details on the events? Were there witnesses, and if so, staff or visitors?
I'm not challenging the issue, but hearsay accusations need to have validation before any accusations are made.
After that, and after speaking as Sofia suggests, address the staff. If you can do so, I would contact the administrator; go straight to the top before anyone can become aware that the action was witnessed. Ask for a meeting for a serious issue, but don't explain until you meet publicly, with someone you know as a witness.
There may also be a long term care ombudsperson who can accompany you or offer advice. That's who I contacted before our family met with the staff when my mother wasn't being properly treated in PT.