Many of our clients describe poor nursing home conditions that a loved one was forced to endure until they could be moved or before they died. All too often, a nursing home will promise to fix problems complained about and don’t. Most people are not aware that there are laws that dictate mandatory nursing home responsibilities. Nursing homes that do not meet their obligations can be punished.
Along with specific resident rights, state law also sets forth specific responsibilities that a nursing home must fulfill. These are important to know as well as resident rights because when a nursing home is not meeting its responsibilities it can deliver poor care. Some of these responsibilities include:
- admitting only that number of residents for which it reasonably believes it can safely and adequately provide nursing care (not enough CNAs or nurses)
- ensuring that drugs and medications are not used for convenience of the staff, or for punishment, or in such quantities that interfere with a resident’s normal living activities
- complying with all state and federal regulations
- providing for the spiritual needs and wants of residents by notifying, at a resident’s request, a clergyman of the resident’s choice
- ensuring that no resident shall be subjected to physical restraints except upon written orders of an attending physician for a specific period of time when necessary to protect such resident from injury to himself or others
- any applicant for admission to a nursing home who is denied such admission shall be given the reason for such denial in writing
It’s important to know what a nursing home must do by law so they can be held accountable for poor care. Make sure you have a copy of the law.
