Verbal Abuse Allegations

[txdon]

I have had several AAO residents express concerns regarding allegations of verbal abuse by several different CNA's and nurses when they ask for help. Most of the concerns involve residents being talked down to, told to be quite, harsh tone, etc. When I share what is told to me, my DON dismisses it and says I'm sure it was misinterpreted or "forgets" to follow up. I think the reason why he ignores these concerns is because he doesn't want to deal with staffing issues. Our facility currently is using a lot of agency nurses and he is under pressure to get agency out. My question is what if anything should I do other than reporting it to him? I have asked this particular CNA not to care for this particular resident anymore.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

You could have a staff meeting and explain this kind of behavior is not acceptable. If you can get the residents to name the CNAs you can write them up. Verbal abuse is the hardest to prove. I fired someone once for what I thought was verbal abuse but the DPH never even came out. I called them about it and they said it didn't reach what they considered to be the level of abuse.

[debRN0417]

All allegations of verbal abuse MUST be thoroughly investigated and reported to the state agency. If you get a survey and residents complain, the surveyors will look to see if the allegations were reported and an investigation done. If not, it is a serious problem.