WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley continues to pursue solutions to the problem of social media posts of nursing home residents by nursing home workers, most recently writing a follow-up letter to Snapchat and receiving a response. The news outlet ProPublica has documented 44 incidents across the country since 2012 in which nursing home workers posted photos of nursing home residents on social media. Three of the incidents were in Iowa – in Johnston, Ames and Hubbard. A TV station in Wisconsin detailed the incidents in that state.
“By all accounts, the vast majority of nursing home workers do their jobs well with respect for the people in their care,” Grassley said. “Still, there are occasional disturbing incidents. It’s hard to understand the mindset of someone who would post a humiliating photo of an elderly person. We have to consider every means of fixing this problem, including involvement from the nursing home industry, the social media companies, and prosecutors. The good news is we’re raising awareness that the problem exists and those in a position to prevent the problem are for the most part taking action.”
Grassley became involved in the issue after the ProPublica coverage raised it to his attention. Since he became involved, the leading nursing home industry association responded to his letter and put out detailed guidance to its members about the social media abuse problem. The inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services alerted 50 State Medicaid Fraud Control Units to be increasingly aware of the problem and investigate allegations accordingly. The Justice Department expressed concern, noting that protecting seniors from abuse is one of its highest priorities. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat also expressed concern.
Grassley continues to follow up. In its latest response to Grassley, Snapchat said that it is technically unfeasible to routinely monitor user posts for problematic content. Also, it’s unclear how many users Snapchat has terminated for problematic content.
Grassley’s follow-up letter to Snapchat is available here. Grassley’s letters to Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram are here, here and here. Snapchat’s initial response is available here. Snapchat’s follow-up response is available here. Facebook/Instagram’s response is available here. His letter to the Justice Department is available here. The Justice Department’s response is available here. His letter to the HHS OIG and the OIG’s response are available here and here. His letter to the nursing home industry association and its response are available here and here.
ProPublica’s details of the three Iowa incidents follow:
Date: Around August 2013
Facility: Bishop Drumm Retirement Center
City: Johnston
State: IA
Type of facility: Nursing home
How it became public: News story
Social media site: Instagram
Description: Two employees posted at least one inappropriate photo on a social media website. Officials would not detail the nature of the photos but said both “rogue” employees were fired. In a statement at the time, Bishop Drumm president and chief executive Brian Farrell said publishing photos of a resident not only violates the home’s core values, “it also violates the human dignity of the resident.” He said all employees are educated about handling of personal health information, including photos. “Such behavior cannot and will not be tolerated.”
Date: October 2014
Facility: Riverside North Enrichment Community
City: Ames
State: IA
How it became public: News story, criminal charges
Social media site: Snapchat
Description: A nursing assistant recorded a video showing a resident’s genitals. She pleaded guilty to one count of dependent adult abuse, a misdemeanor. A spokesperson at the facility told the Ames Tribune at the time that the woman is no longer an employee. The current administrator declined to comment when reached by ProPublica, saying she was not there when the incident happened.
Date: March 2016
Facility: Hubbard Care Center
City: Hubbard
State: IA
Type of facility: Nursing home
How it became public: Government Inspection Report
Social media site: Snapchat
Description: A nursing assistant was fired after sharing a photo on Snapchat of an elderly and incapacitated resident with his pants down and feces on his legs, shirt and left hand. The resident had extreme cognitive impairments due to dementia. The staff member captioned the photo “s**t galore” and sent it to several other employees, one of whom reported it to the home’s administration. The resident’s family asked to speak with the aide to express their disappointment and told her “they hoped she never worked in another nursing home again,” the inspection report said. Kendall Watkins, a lawyer for the home, called the incident an “isolated act” and said the facility responded quickly and appropriately. He said the facility had an adequate social media policy in place prior to the incident, which the staff member ignored. Hardin County Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Brenneman said his office had recommended the nursing home contact state regulators regarding the incident, but did not file criminal charges against the aide. The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals fined the facility $1,000 for the incident but did not pursue criminal charges because the resident’s genitals were not exposed.
3 incidents in 4 years does not merit his effort in this day and age especially when the employees were fired and/or the facility was fined. People will be morons, no amount of legislation will prevent it.
How about not allowing staff to have cell phones on them while working.
It’s called the LOLVS Bill