by Carolyn Teasley

Created on: December 28, 2008   Last Updated: April 28, 2009

Legal Information: Nursing Home Injuries and Abuse

Nursing home abuse has become a growing problem in recent years. As baby boomers have begun to need nursing home care, the number of elders has risen faster than the number of nursing home skilled workers available. To fill the growing need, competent caregivers must be trained and educated. Sadly, abuse and neglect are a by-product of the present caregiver to number of patients ratio. The US government passed the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987 to address the quality of care and the environmental living conditions necessary to maintain mental and physical health free from neglect or abuse that all nursing home residents are entitled to. Under the act nursing homes must provide:

Sufficient staffing to provide all services necessary (personal hygiene, feeding, incontinent care, pericare etc.) in an efficient manner

A physical and mental assessment within 14 days of resident being admitted to the nursing home facility. Re-asssessments must by done if resident has a major change in physical or mental health or on a yearly basis.

Dispension of medications with accurate documentation to each resident

Medical treatment by a physician on a 24 hour/7 day basis to include emergency care

Medical treatment by a specialist as warranted for each resident. An example would be have the services of a Podiatrist for diabetic patients available to keep their feet healthy.

Choosing the right nursing home facility requires a lot of research and time. To help one make as an informed decision as possible, here are a few websites with useful information:

1) The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released an updated (February 14, 2008) list of poorly performing nursing home facilities nationwide at http://www.cms.hhrs.gov/CertificationandComplianc/Do wnloads/SFFList.pdf. The 131 Special Focus Facilities (SFF) listed were found to have at least 5-7 violations or more by safety inspectors and have been found failed to improve on follow-up visits.

2) An Elder Care Locater telephone number, a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging, 1-800-677-1116. Call between the hours of 9 am to 8 pm, Monday - Friday except U.S. Federal Holidays. Should the abuse or neglect need immediate intervention, be advised to call 911 or contact the local police in the area. Do not wait.

3) The Medicare Nursing Home Checklist is available to help one physically evaluate nursing home facilities in the area can be printed at the website, http://www.medicare.gov/nursing/checklist.pdf. This checklist helps guide one as to what to look for in a competently operated nursing home facility.

4) Computer software equipped with the criteria needed to evaluate and compare up to three nursing home facilities using the Five Star Quality Rating System can be located at http://medicare.gov/NHCompare/Include/DataSection/Qu estions/ProximitySearch.asbhcp=1. Nursing homes can be identified by entering street address, city, state or zip code of each facility. Ratings are given for an overall rating which combines health care inspection ratings with any complaints received from family members, collected data on quality of care given to residents, interactions between staff and residents and environmental influences.

Even with the use of the above helpful websites, one must be deligent in evaluating and choosing the appropriate nursing care facility. Surprise visits are recommended to have a true picture of how the facility is run and the quality of care residents receive.

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