Complaint puts CHDC funding at risk

By Renée Hunter

The Conway Human Development Center has until April 22 to stop incidences of sexual aggression by a client at the facility and ensure they will not occur again or it will no longer receive Medicaid payments.

The agency could also lose its license and certification.

DHS received a complaint about three weeks ago from the family of a client, according to DHS Director of Communications Joe Quinn, and the office of long term care, which regulates nursing homes and institutions, opened an investigation.

"(The investigation) substantiated some of the (family's) allegations," Quinn said.

The report on the investigation, released on Monday, indicates that the offender sexually approached at least 10 clients more than a dozen times over a period of six months, beginning in July. Two of the incidents, according to the behavior incident report on the offender, occurred on the patio while the staff was preparing lunch. Other behavior incident reports quoted in the report indicate that the staff was unable to control the client and that even when he was being watched, he would slip away the minute the staff member was distracted.

Quinn said CHDC has 10 business days from receipt of the report to respond to the report's findings and provide a plan for correcting the problem. The report, dated Feb. 26, was sent to CHDC by certified mail, and Quinn said CHDC's response should be received "any day."

The young man reportedly responsible for the aggression had been diagnosed with a sexual disorder but although a plan was in place to supervise this client, it apparently was not properly enforced and the young man was not constantly supervised as called for. He received one-on-one supervision on only five of the 14 days reviewed by DHS and then only during the evening shifts, according to the report.

CHDC Administrator Bob Clark said the issue involves a young man who is autistic and severely retarded. The staff has worked around the clock with the man, he added. The issue in the complaint, he said, revolved around the man's behavior in front of other clients and toward other clients.

"We love him like the other 600 people who live here," Clark said.

He said the young man has received assistance, but that the one-on-one assignments have not been documented well.

"Documentation is the key," he said.

The behavior exhibited by the young man is one that Clark said can be difficult to control.

"We are aggressively looking at what else we can do to assist him," Clark said.

As for answering the complaint, Clark said CHDC already has a plan of correction. The plan will be sent to DHS on Wednesday. Clark said he believes the plan to be due on Friday.

"Based on record review and staff interview, the facility failed to consistently implement the Behavior Program Plan dated Feb. 24 to provide sufficient direct care staff to supervise (this client) who had identified sexual inappropriateness and documented unsolicited sexual approaches toward 10 of 10 sampled clients," the report states.

In an unrelated case, CHDC was also cited for improper monitoring of medication of a second client. That client was transferred to Arkansas Children's Hospital and has since been moved to another long-term care facility.