Report unsafe care · Facility staff
Report a concern
This is the form. Read the box below it first — it says where the report goes, and what it is not.
Reports go to the facility’s ownership and its attorneys. CareGuard is a Patient Safety Organization, not a regulator, and keeps no copy. This does not replace emergency or state reporting — call 911, the Missouri Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline, or the Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
What should I include in a report?
- Write what you saw, with a date. Specifics survive a chain of hands; impressions do not.
- Say whether you already reported it internally, and to whom. That single line tells ownership what its own management is doing with information, which is often the actual finding.
- Do not include a resident’s full name if you can describe the situation without it. Room number, unit and date are usually enough, and it keeps identifiable health information out of a web form.
- Photographs of a hazard help; photographs of residents do not. The form accepts an upload. A broken grab bar, an unlocked medication cart, a blocked exit or a wet floor is worth photographing. A resident, a wound or a chart is not — keep identifiable people and health information out of it.
- You can send more than one report. A pattern documented three times is a different thing from an incident reported once.
Is a small problem worth reporting?
The usual hesitation is not about whether the thing is real. It is about whether it is big enough to be worth the risk. Two things worth knowing: reports are read by people whose exposure runs to years rather than to this month, so the small recurring things are exactly what they want; and a pattern described across several weeks is both more useful and less identifying than a single shift. Anonymity and retaliation.
Where should the reporting QR code be posted?
Somewhere you can stand alone — a break room, a staff restroom, the inside of a supply-room door. If the only code in your building is at the nurses’ station or the lobby, that is worth reporting on its own. The QR code on site.
Frequently asked questions
Where does my CareGuard report go?
Your report goes to the facility’s ownership and its attorneys. CareGuard is a Patient Safety Organization, not a regulator, and it keeps no copy of what you send. Say in the report whether you already raised the problem inside the building and with whom, because that tells ownership what its own management did with the information.
Does a CareGuard report replace calling the state hotline?
No. A CareGuard report does not replace emergency or state reporting. If someone is in danger, call 911. For suspected abuse or neglect, call the Missouri Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210. To reach an advocate for residents, call the Long-Term Care Ombudsman at 800-309-3282. You can use those routes and send a CareGuard report as well.
Can I attach photos to a nursing home safety report?
Yes. The form accepts an upload. Photograph the hazard, not the people: a broken grab bar, an unlocked medication cart, a blocked exit or a wet floor is worth a picture. Do not photograph a resident, a wound or a chart. Keep identifiable people and health information out of the form; a room number, unit and date are usually enough.
Can I report the same problem more than once?
Yes, and it helps. A problem documented three times reads differently from an incident reported once. Write what you saw with a date each time, because specific details survive being passed from hand to hand and general impressions do not. A pattern described across several weeks is also more useful to ownership and less likely to point back to a single shift.