Resident stated that on 4/27/24, he was in the dining room and a staff member came up to him and squeezed him hard from behind like a bear hug until his face turned red. The resident did not mention if his breathing was affected. The resident said staff did this because he wouldn’t sit down. The resident has several areas of petechiae on his chest due to this and starting to form bruises. A report was made to the Child Abuse Hotline (accepted for investigation).
Licensing Specialist: Eleanor White
5/7/24 – Program Manager and Licensing Specialist visited the facility to review camera footage, nursing notes, and witness statements. Video footage confirmed allegation occurred. Per the staff member’s own statement: “that’s when I start squeeze him to make sure he don’t get up out his seat.” A second staff member can be seen on video eating lunch with other residents and not offering assistance during the hold.
- Facility cited 905.10: The staff picked up the child from the lunchroom and physically carried him back to the resident’s dorm when he refused to follow instructions.
- Facility cited 905.4.g: The staff used a form of hug containment as a form of behavior management then proceeded to squeeze the resident across the chest to gain his compliance. This resulted in the resident sustaining marks across his chest that were visible by nursing staff approx. 3 hours later.
- Facility cited 109.1.g: The staff reported that he squeezed the resident around his chest to prevent him from getting up from a lunchroom table.
- Facility cited 907.2: The other staff in the lunchroom failed to intervene, assist, or call for nursing during the incident in the lunchroom.
CACD investigation found TRUE. Licensing complaint founded. Staff was terminated from the facility and witnessing staff will be retrained.