Blumberg’s Nursing Home (BNH) is a 100-bed Medicare and Medicaid certified facility in suburban Philadelphia, PA. The administrator recently terminated the facility’s Director of Nursing (DON), receptionist, and dietary aid for inappropriate conduct. They had all been involved in purchasing and using illegal substances on facility grounds. Facility staff, as well as many of the more lucid residents, have found out about the incident. The charge nurse has been appointed interim DON. The human resource manager has sent a memo to all staff informing them of a mandatory staff meeting to discuss BNH’s code of ethics and to provide additional training on workplace culture. Because federal law requires that there be at least one (1) registered nurse on duty for a minimum of eight (8) hours a day, seven (7) days a week, and that the DON must be a registered nurse (RN) – which the interim DON is not – BNH is out of compliance.
Considering the reason behind the termination of the employees, formulate a human resources policy that addresses inappropriate conduct in the workplace, the process of reporting inappropriate conduct, and the consequences of violating the policy. Explain your rationale.