Investigation finds assisted living staff mistreating residents and posting about it on social media

A worker at a Minnesota Assisted Living Community wrapped a metal chain around the wrists and forearms of two residents without their consent on two separate occasions, and a co-worker recorded the mistreatment and posted it on social media; An investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health Health found.

This finding came after the department investigated allegations of emotional abuse against two residents by two staff members. The state Department of Health last month filed a Level 3 violation against Willows & Waters Senior Living in Rochester, MN, where the incidents are said to have occurred.

according to State Rapid Response Investigative Public ReportOn two separate occasions, a staff member wrapped a long metal chain around the wrists and forearms of two residents, and another staff member recorded the incident on his personal cell phone and later posted the videos on Facebook. The incidents reportedly occurred in September.

Investigators described the two employees’ actions as “humiliating” and “humiliating.” One of the residents of the neighborhood was living together dementiaThe other had diagnoses of paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Investigators said the second resident was mentally disabled and unable to report the abuse.

The employee using the chain said it was “meant as a joke.” The Ministry of Health said the second employee admitted recording the videos but refused to post them on social media, despite evidence confirming that the videos were posted on his social media account.

Community leaders said they immediately disciplined the employees, according to the report. A manager who saw the videos told the employee who shared them to immediately delete them from his phone. The chief told investigators that he did not report to the Minnesota Adult Abuse Reporting Center because “there was no harm to the residents,” the residents were laughing in the videos, and “no one was being tied up or restrained.”

The legal guardian of one of the residents involved in the incident said that the family was not informed about the incident and that the issue was “very serious”.

The worker who recorded the videos was terminated in June for recording videos on a personal phone, violation of resident rights, insubordination and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violations.

Investigators noted that their reports would be submitted to the state’s nurse aide registry and/or the Minnesota Department of Human Services for inclusion in records of possible abuse, meaning employees could possibly be disqualified from working with older adults. Defendants have the right to appeal a finding of ill-treatment.

Willows & Waters did not respond to a request for comment McKnight’s Senior Life by production deadline.