Nursing Home
Choosing a nursing home is a very important decision. You need to think about whether a nursing home is the best choice for you. A nursing home provides care to people who can’t be cared for at home or in the community. For people who can’t take care of themselves due to physical, emotional, or mental problems, nursing homes can provide a wide range of personal care (like help with feeding or dressing) and health services. For many people, this care generally is custodial, or nonskilled.
Click here to contact a Nursing Home Lawyer in your area.
About 1.6 million elderly and disabled Americans receive care in nearly 17,000 nursing homes in the United States. Under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, states have the primary responsibility for conducting on-site inspections and recommending sanctions against nursing homes that violate health and safety requirements. The federal government helps fund these activities.
Federal law says nursing homes have to keep or improve the quality of life of each resident. A nursing home that allows its residents to suffer physical and sexual abuse is failing to meet one of its most important obligations. Not only do some nursing homes subject residents to abuse, but they also add insult to injury by failing to notify police when abuse occurs. This is shocking, and it's unacceptable. A crime is a crime, whether it occurs in a school, a park or a nursing home.
Checklists can help you evaluate the nursing homes that you call or visit. Use a new checklist for each home you call or visit. Then, compare the scores. This will help you select a nursing home that is a good choice for you or your relative.
You have the right to be free from abuse and neglect by anyone in your nursing home, including staff members, other residents, volunteers, family, friends, or any other individual. There are different kinds of abuse. They include:
- Verbal Abuse
- Sexual Abuse
- Emotional Abuse
- Financial Abuse
- Neglect
- Isolation
While nursing homes are expected to keep residents safe from harm, there are a variety of federal, state, and local agencies, including law enforcement entities, that typically play a part in investigating instances of resident abuse. It is in these cases that having an experienced nursing home lawyer can prove to be invaluable.
Click here if you or someone you know need to contact a Nursing Home Lawyer.
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