The Nursing Home Reform Act: Protecting Your Loved One from Florida Nursing Home Abuse
Placing an elderly family member in long-term hospital care can be daunting. You want the best possible care for your parents and grandparents, and there are hundreds of Florida nursing homes to choose from. How can you be sure all their needs will be met, that they will not suffer abuse or neglect, and ensure the highest quality of life?
Thankfully, nursing home care has vastly improved over the past twenty years, largely due to the Nursing Home Reform Act. Passed in 1987, the NHRA guarantees patients in nursing homes certain rights so that they may retain their independence, control their own care, and avoid situations of violence or abuse.
Under the new act, Florida nursing home patients are entitled to:
- Ethical and responsible quality of care
- Improved quality of life
- Maintaining daily living tasks, such as bathing, eating and walking regardless of medical reasons
- Comprehensive resident assessments, including an individualized care plan
- Nursing and social services
- 75 hours of staff training and testing to ensure quality of care
- Inability to be discharged against a patient’s will
- Improved certification standards for nursing home facilities
- Nutritional and pharmaceutical services
- Family protection against billing collection for certain services
- The option of rehabilitation and social work services
- Penalties and improvements for certified homes that fall below standards
Since the patient will be living at the facility, many personal rights are also guaranteed under the NHRA, further ensuring your family member’s safety from Palm Beach nursing home abuse. A patient receiving long-term care is entitled to the same quality and attention as if he or she was in a hospital facility—clean, competent, and caring. Unfortunately, we cannot constantly be at our loved one’s side, and do not know who will be attending to them hour-by-hour.
If you suspect an elderly relative has been abused in a nursing home, we can answer your questions, run you through a typical case of abuse—even provide a free consultation. Call the experienced Palm Beach nursing home attorneys at Fetterman & Associates today at (866) 865-1244.
