Nursing Home Lawyer

Nursing home abuse is a crime. Residents of nursing homes have rights and protections under the law. They have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to have their privacy and personal worth protected. They must be informed about their medical care and have the right to make their own decisions regarding their money and services. In 1987, Congress passed the Nursing Home Reform Act which requires each state to issue regulations to protect the rights of nursing home residents. Protecting your loved one's rights begins with understanding them.

A. Access and Visitation.
Nursing facilities can't keep a resident from seeing family members, a resident advocate, a physician, service providers, or representatives of the state or federal government.

B. Accommodation of Need.
Nursing homes must adapt their rules and services to a resident's individual needs and preferences, when it is reasonable to do so. For example, residents may keep and use their personal possessions and clothing, unless health and safety would be endangered.

C. Confidentiality.
Residents have the right to keep their personal and clinical records private.

D. Equal Access to Quality Care.
A nursing facility must have the same policies and practices for all individuals, regardless of whether they pay their bills privately or receive benefits from Medicare or Medicaid.

E. Financial Obligations.
Periodically, nursing facilities must tell residents what facility services are covered by Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, the facility must list the services for which residents will be charged and the fees for services.

F. Free Choice.
Residents have the right to: choose their personal physician, be fully informed about their medical care and treatment, participate in planning their care and treatment, and to refuse treatment.

G. Freedom from Abuse and Restraints.
Residents have the right to be free from physical or mental abuse. They cannot be kept apart from other residents against their will. They cannot he tied down or given drugs to restrain them if it is not required to treat their medical symptoms. The facility cannot use restraints to punish a resident or to make it easier to care for the resident.

H. Grievances.
Residents have the right to complain about their care or treatment without being punished. They also have the right to have their grievances resolved quickly.

I. Notice of Rights.
When a resident is admitted to a nursing facility, staff must inform the resident about his or her rights. The facility must provide a written statement of these rights if a resident asks for it.

J. Participation in Resident and Family Groups.
Residents have the right to participate in social, religious, and community activities that do not interfere with the rights of other residents.

K. Personal Funds.
Nursing facilities may not require residents to deposit their personal funds with the facility. However, a resident can ask a nursing home to manage his or her personal funds. In this case, the facility must follow state and federal record keeping requirements.

L. Privacy.
Residents have the right to privacy. This right includes their rooms, medical treatment, communications (including telephone conversations), visits, and meetings with family or resident groups.

M. Records and Surveys.
A resident has the right to review his or her medical records within 24 hours after making a request. A resident also has the right to examine the results of the facility's most recent survey and the plan of correction, if there is one.

N. Relocation.
Residents must receive notice before their room or roommate is changed. Residents can refuse transfer to another room if the purpose of the transfer is to move the resident from a Medicare bed to a Medicaid bed or vise versa.

O. Transfer and Discharge.
Residents have the right to remain in the nursing home. They cannot he moved unless the transfer or discharge is: (1) necessary to meet the resident's welfare; (2) appropriate because the resident no longer needs the facility's services; (3) necessary to prevent endangering the health or safety of other individuals in the facility; (4) based on the resident's failure to pay, after reasonable notice; or (5) required because the facility has ceased to operate. The resident and a family member or legal representative must be given at least 30 days' notice of a proposed transfer/discharge and must be informed of the resident's right to appeal. The facility must prepare the resident so the transfer/discharge is safe and orderly.

P. Transfer for Hospitalization.
Before transferring a resident for hospitalization or therapeutic leave, a facility must give the resident written notice of how long it will hold the resident's heel open. This is called a "bedhold period."

Q. Priority Readmission.
A nursing home resident who remains in the hospital or on therapeutic leave after the bedhold period expires must be readmitted to the facility immediately when a semi-private bed becomes available.

Reprinted from the Center for Nursing Home Abuse (September 14, 2001)

If you believe one of the above legal rights has been violated, you should consider contacting an attorney who specializes in nursing home abuse.

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