Investigation Shows Maltreatment of Vulnerable Adults at Residence Facility

The report alleges the conduct occurred from June 16-19 in a facility run by ResCare Minnesota, part of Louisville, Kentucky-based ResCare - a company described on its website as the "largest diversified health and human services provider in the U.S."

"We deeply regret this situation," the company said in a statement.

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"We are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our clients every day. We conducted an internal investigation as soon as we learned of this issue and immediately took immediate action to correct the plumbing situation. The employee has been separated from employment with ResCare. Our employees are trained to serve with compassion and respect. We do not tolerate behavior that does not comply with regulations or our mission."

The report described the facility in question as a "split entry styled home. The facility had one bathroom on the main floor, and another bathroom was located in an apartment that was used for the live-in staff person."

In this case, the investigation reported, the live-in staff person "was typically gone on weekends and usually returned to the facility on Sunday nights at 10 p.m." Which meant the live-in apartment on the lower level was locked, and the staff person working at the facility from 2 p.m. on June 16 to 10 p.m. on June 18 did not have access.

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According to the investigation's findings, the staff person on duty said the remaining toilet became plugged on the morning of June 17. The staff person put tape on it and allegedly told the vulnerable adults "to have bowel movements in plastic bags that were put into garbage cans in the bathroom and to run water in the shower when they had to urinate."

The staff person reportedly also urinated in the shower.

"After the (vulnerable adults) had bowel movements, the (staff person) told them to carry the bags out to the garbage in the garage even though gloves were not provided," the investigative report states. "Although there was a sign near the toilet that gave instructions if the toilet became inoperable and emergency phone numbers were located elsewhere in the facility, the (staff person) did not call maintenance, did not document that the toilet was inoperable and did not tell (the live-in staff person) when (the live-in staff person) came to the facility at about 7:30 p.m. on June 18, 2017 for his/her shift."

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The investigation's conclusion states the live-in staff person came upstairs the following morning and "noted that there was smeared feces on the bathroom floor, on the toilet and on the vanity." It was at that point the vulnerable adults informed the live-in staff person of what had reportedly transpired.

The investigation concluded: 

"Although the substantiated maltreatment for which the (staff person) was responsible for affected more than one (vulnerable adult) and incident met the definition of both neglect and emotional abuse, the maltreatment did not meet statutory criteria to be determined as recurring because the (staff person's) single act of not addressing the malfunctioning toilet was considered a single event of maltreatment. In addition, the maltreatment was not serious because there was no information that the (vulnerable adult's) were harmed as a result of the maltreatment."

The investigation also concluded the facility's policies and procedures were adequate, but not followed by the staff person.

That staff person, according to the report, is no longer employed by the facility.

The staff person was not disqualified from providing direct care services as a result of the maltreatment determination, but was notified that any future substantiated act of maltreatment will be considered recurring and result in disqualification.

Also, because the facility "took immediate steps to address the situation, corrective action is not being ordered for the violation outlined in this report."