CareGuard keeps no copy so that it cannot be subpoenaed for a report it does not have, so one fewer copy exists to be breached or leaked, and so the chain stays short: reporter, counsel, ownership. Retaining nothing is also what makes an owner willing to install the channel at all.
CareGuard transmits incident reports to a facility’s ownership and counsel and retains nothing. What that protects, what it costs, and what it does not do.
It is the most counterintuitive part of the design and the one worth explaining rather than burying in a policy page.
Where does a CareGuard incident report go?
Reports submitted through the CareGuard Reporting System are transmitted to the facility’s designated legal counsel and to facility ownership. CareGuard acts as a facilitator of that transmission and does not retain, store or maintain the reports.
Why does CareGuard keep no copy of your report?
- CareGuard cannot be subpoenaed for something it does not have. An organization holding copies of incident reports about dozens of facilities is a target and a single point of failure. One that holds none is neither.
- One fewer copy exists. Every additional repository of a sensitive report is another place it can be breached, leaked or mishandled.
- The chain is short. Reporter, counsel, ownership. Nobody in the middle sitting on a file about a building they have never been in.
What are the downsides of keeping no copy?
- No status updates. There is nothing here to look up. A person who reports will not hear back, and is told so before they submit.
- No aggregate view. CareGuard cannot show an owner a trend across their portfolio from reports, because it does not hold them.
- No recovery. If ownership loses a report, CareGuard cannot resend it.
Does a CareGuard report count as an official report?
Keeping no copy does not make a report a legal filing, does not make it confidential in any particular proceeding, and does not discharge anyone’s mandatory reporting duty. A report to CareGuard goes to a private party — a facility’s owners and their lawyers — and that is all it does.
This is why every page on this site that invites a report says so above the link, and names the routes that do have authority: 911 in an emergency, the Missouri Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210 for suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of an adult, and the Missouri Long-Term Care Ombudsman at 800-309-3282 for an independent advocate. Those routes in full.
The trade being offered
An owner will not put a reporting channel in their building if the channel accumulates a discoverable archive about them somewhere else. Retaining nothing is what makes an owner willing to hear bad news in writing at all — and a channel that exists and is used is worth more to a resident than a better one that no owner installs.
Frequently asked questions
Will I hear back after I file a report?
No. CareGuard keeps nothing, so there is no status to look up and no one to call for an update. Every person who reports is told this before they submit. The report goes to the facility’s designated legal counsel and to its ownership, and what happens next is in their hands.
Can CareGuard be subpoenaed for my report?
CareGuard cannot be subpoenaed for a report it does not have. It passes each report to the facility’s counsel and ownership and does not retain, store or maintain a copy. That also means one fewer copy exists anywhere that could be breached, leaked or mishandled.
Where do I report suspected elder abuse in Missouri?
Call 911 in an emergency. For suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of an adult, call the Missouri Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210. For an independent advocate, call the Missouri Long-Term Care Ombudsman at 800-309-3282. A report to CareGuard goes to a private party and does not replace any of these.
Does reporting through CareGuard meet my mandatory reporting duty?
No. Keeping no copy does not turn a report into a legal filing, does not make it confidential in any particular proceeding, and does not discharge anyone’s mandatory reporting duty. A CareGuard report goes to a facility’s owners and their lawyers, and that is all it does.