...and I work for a home care agency, but I work in their Vent facility so I am really not a home care nurse, but anyway. The aid should be fired immediately for that. You cannot leave a vulnerable adult in a situation such as that. If it was shift change it is her duty to stay there until someone comes to relieve her. If there wasn't anyone there to take over for her she is required to make sure that her client is safe before she leaves. I can understand here leaving if your friend is out of the shower, dressed and somewhere with water and food and easy access to a phone, but to leave someone hanging without the means to get help is inexcusable. PM me if you want some more information on that. This is the kind of stuff that really upsets me, it gives my profession a bad name, even though I am a licensed professional there is not excuse for a nurses aide to leave someone in the lurch like that.
:grr: :nuke:
On edit, I don't know if you friend also lives in Utah such as you state in your profile, but if you do this the the definition of abuse in the state of Utah as it relates to a vunerable adult. What the aid did is right in this.
ABANDONMENT: Any knowing or intentional action or inaction, including desertion, by a
person or entity acting as a caretaker for a vulnerable adult that leaves the vulnerable adult
without the means or ability to obtain necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical or other health
care.
ABUSE:
(a) attempting to cause harm, intentionally or knowingly causing harm, or intentionally or
knowingly placing another in fear of imminent harm;
(b) unreasonable or inappropriate use of physical restraint, medication, or isolation that causes or
is likely to cause harm to a vulnerable adult that is in conflict with a physician’s orders or used as
an unauthorized substitute for treatment, unless that conduct furthers the health and safety of the
adult;
(c) emotional or psychological abuse;
(d) sexual offense as described in Title 76, Chapter 5, Offenses Against the Person; or
(e) deprivation of life sustaining treatment, except:
(i) as provided in Title 75, Chapter 2, Part 11, Personal Choice and Living Will Act; or
(ii) when informed consent, as defined in Section 76-5-111, has been obtained.
ELDER ABUSE: Abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an elder adult.
EMOTIONAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE: Intentional or knowing verbal or nonverbal
conduct directed at a vulnerable adult including ridiculing, intimidating, yelling, swearing,
threatening, isolating, coercing, harassing, or other forms of intimidating behavior that results or
could result in the vulnerable adult suffering mental anguish or emotional distress, including fear,
humiliation, degradation, agitation, confusion, or isolation.
EXPLOITATION: The offense described in Subsection 76-5-111(4).
INTIMIDATION: Communication through verbal or nonverbal conduct which threatens
deprivation of money, food, clothing, medicine, shelter, social interaction, supervision, health
care, or companionship, or which threatens isolation or abuse.
ISOLATION:
(a) …knowingly or intentionally preventing a vulnerable adult from having contact with another
person by:
(i) preventing the vulnerable adult from receiving visitors, mail, or telephone calls, contrary to
the express wishes of the vulnerable adult, including communicating to a visitor that the
vulnerable adult is not present or does not want to meet with or talk to the visitor, knowing that
communication to be false;
(ii) physically restraining the vulnerable adult in order to prevent the vulnerable adult from
meeting with a visitor; or
(iii) making false or misleading statements to the vulnerable adult in order to induce the
vulnerable adult to refuse to receive communication from visitors or other family members.
(b) The term “isolation” does not include an act intended to protect the physical or mental
welfare of the vulnerable adult or an act performed pursuant to the treatment plan or instructions
of a physician or other professional advisor of the vulnerable adult.
NEGLECT:
(a) (i) failure of a caretaker to provide nutrition, clothing, shelter, supervision, personal care, or
dental, medical, or other health care; or
(ii) failure to provide protection from health and safety hazards or maltreatment;
(b) failure of a caretaker to provide care to a vulnerable adult in a timely manner and with the
degree of care that a reasonable person in a like position would exercise;
(c) a pattern of conduct by a caretaker, without the vulnerable adult’s informed consent, resulting
in deprivation of food, water, medication, health care, shelter, cooling, heating, or other services
necessary to maintain the vulnerable adult’s well being;
(d) knowing or intentional failure by a caretaker to carry out a prescribed treatment plan that
causes or is likely to cause harm to the vulnerable adult;
(e) self-neglect by the vulnerable adult; or
(f) abandonment by a caretaker.
SELF-NEGLECT: The failure of a vulnerable adult to provide food, water, medication, health
care, shelter, cooling, heating, safety, or other services necessary to maintain the vulnerable
adult’s well being when that failure is the result of the adult’s mental or physical impairment.
Choice of lifestyle or living arrangements may not, by themselves, be evidence of self-neglect.
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