St Joseph Residence: Assault Not Reported to Police - WI
Then she hit another resident too.
Nobody called the police.
The incident came to light during a complaint inspection on August 15, 2025, when a federal surveyor reviewed the facility's own internal report of what happened. What the report described was unambiguous: a certified nursing assistant watched a family member, identified in inspection records as FM-C, aggressively grab the first resident, identified as R1, pull the resident toward her, and swing at R1's midsection with a closed fist. Staff also witnessed FM-C swat at and strike R2 on the right hand, grab R2's left hand, and drag R2's wheelchair toward her as R2 tried to roll away.
Staff pulled both residents away from FM-C. That part they handled. What came next is what inspectors found fault with.
The facility completed psychosocial assessments on both residents the same day and followed up with psychosocial monitoring for three days after the incident. The nursing home administrator, identified as NHA-A, spoke with FM-C about what happened. The administrator concluded the incidents did not appear to have affected R1 or R2. And then the facility moved on.
No call to local law enforcement. No report. No consultation with police about whether what happened in that dining room constituted a crime.
When the surveyor interviewed NHA-A on the morning of August 15, the administrator offered two explanations for why police were never notified. The first was that the power of attorney for R1 and R2 did not want to proceed with charges. The second was that NHA-A personally did not feel the abuse should be reported to local law enforcement.
The administrator also confirmed, when asked directly, that the facility had never had a formal conversation with local law enforcement to determine what the police themselves would want reported, or what they would consider a crime.
That gap matters. The facility's own abuse prevention and response policy, revised as recently as January 1, 2025, stated that licensed staff or social services would contact the police department if there was a suspected crime against a resident. But the policy listed no examples of what crimes should trigger that call. It did not mention assault. It did not mention battery. And according to the surveyor's findings, the facility had never consulted with local law enforcement to work through what the policy was actually supposed to cover.
The result was a policy that existed on paper and collapsed the moment someone had to use it. When a family member punched a resident with a closed fist over a bowl of beans, the administrator looked at the policy, looked at what the power of attorney wanted, and decided a call to the police wasn't necessary.
What the inspection report does not say is whether R1 or R2 had any physical injuries from the incident. The surveyor cited the level of harm as minimal harm or potential for actual harm, and the findings indicate the psychosocial monitoring conducted afterward did not document lasting effects on either resident. But the inspection was not primarily about the physical consequences of what FM-C did. It was about what the facility was required to do afterward, and didn't.
The legal framework at issue, Section 1150B of the Social Security Act, requires nursing facilities to report reasonable suspicions of crimes against residents to law enforcement. The obligation belongs to the facility. It is not contingent on whether a resident or their representative wants charges filed. A power of attorney can decide many things on behalf of a resident who cannot decide for themselves. The facility's legal reporting obligations are not among them.
That distinction appeared to be lost on NHA-A, or at least was not acted upon. The administrator's reasoning, as recorded by the surveyor, treated the POA's reluctance to pursue charges as a reason not to report at all. Those are different decisions made by different parties. The family's wish not to press charges does not extinguish the facility's separate duty to pick up the phone and tell law enforcement what happened in their dining room.
The inspection covered eight sampled residents. Inspectors identified the reporting failure for two of them, R1 and R2, the same two who were struck on June 27. The deficiency was cited at a scope and severity level consistent with minimal harm or potential for actual harm, affecting few residents. It was not cited as immediate jeopardy.
What the inspection record leaves unresolved is what happened to FM-C's access to the facility after the incident. The report describes the administrator speaking with FM-C about the incidents. It does not describe FM-C being barred from the building, having visitation restricted, or facing any formal consequence beyond that conversation. The surveyor's findings focus entirely on the failure to report to law enforcement, not on what protective steps the facility did or did not take to keep R1 and R2 safe from FM-C going forward.
R1 didn't eat the beans FM-C brought from home. FM-C hit R1 in the midsection with a closed fist. FM-C hit R2 for being nearby. Staff removed both residents from the room. The administrator talked to FM-C, checked on the residents for three days, and concluded the matter was handled.
Eight weeks later, a federal surveyor sat down with the administrator and asked why no one had called the police. The answer was that the power of attorney didn't want charges, and that the administrator didn't think a report was necessary.
The facility's policy said to call police if there was a suspected crime against a resident. A resident was punched with a closed fist. The facility never called.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for St Joseph Residence from 2025-08-15 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Download the official CMS inspection PDF from Medicare.gov
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: September 22, 2026 · Our methodology
St Joseph Residence in New London, WI was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 15, 2025.
Then she hit another resident too.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.