Community Grievance Decision Digest
ABUSE, FREEDOM FROM
THE LAW:
Each patient shall...
"Have a right to a humane
psychological and physical environment within the hospital facilities.
These facilities shall be designed to afford patients with comfort and safety...”
§ 51.61(1)(m), Wis. Stats. [Emphasis added.]
Each patient shall...
“Have the right to be treated with
respect and recognition of the patient's
dignity and individuality by all employees of the treatment facility
or community mental health program and by licensed, certified, registered
or permitted providers of health care with whom the patient comes in
contact.”
§
51.61(1)(x), Wis. Stats. [Emphasis added.]
COMFORT, SAFETY AND
RESPECT. (a)
Staff shall take reasonable steps to ensure the physical safety
of all patients.
(b)
Each patient shall be treated with respect and
with recognition of the
patient’s dignity by all
employees of the service provider and by all licensed, certified,
registered or permitted providers of health care with whom the patient
comes in contact."
HFS 94.24(2), Wis. Admin. Code [Emphasis added.]
DECISIONS
-
A mother complained that
her daughter’s therapist reported
sexual abuse to the county social worker.
The therapist learned that a teacher at her daughter’s home
school had touched the young woman inappropriately. The therapist
reported the allegations to the county social worker.
The county Social Services department then got the police involved.
The police came to the home school to arrest the teacher.
This situation was stressful for both mother and daughter.
The incident met the legal definition of sexual abuse.
Since she was a minor,
law mandates the reporting of the allegation. The
therapist’s actions were professional and appropriate.
(Level III Decision in Case No. 03-SGE-02 on 12/26/03.)
-
The
sister/guardian of a woman
filed a grievance about the care
the woman had received while she was living
in her own apartment. She
had been receiving supportive home care services from an independent
service provider under a general contract with the county.
The guardian alleged “abuse
of a vulnerable adult” because the woman’s apartment was not
kept clean by the contractor and was “unlivable due to filth”.
The contract contained no specific requirements, but there was
a list of duties for the staff who visited her apartment.
One duty was to clean the apartment weekly. During one
particular period, the contractor’s employees did not complete many
of the required items and the apartment became very dirty.
Instead, they spent the time providing
companionship to the woman. Regardless of her desire for
companionship, the employees
were responsible for keeping the apartment
clean. Whenever possible the caregivers should be making sure the
task list is completed while working with the client to model those
skills, and to create a social situation where tasks can be completed
together and in a way that is therapeutic for her by reinforcing daily
living skills. While it did not
rise to the level of being “abuse”,
the contractor violated her right to a humane environment. (Level
III Decision in Case No. 03-SGE-04 on 6/15/04.)
Last Updated: November 07, 2006 |
