Nursing home abuse concerns have become a focal point lately as more nursing homes are pushing out people who are disabled and unable to afford care.
A Medicaid managed plan, for example, may drop someone because they are no longer eligible for such a high level of care. The disability money from social security may not last and many of these disabled individuals with minimal assets will have nowhere to go.
Concerns about nursing home abuse have risen in recent months as family members and patients themselves have come forward to allege that improper discharges and evictions have been on the rise at least in Illinois, California, and several other states.
Consumer advocates and ombudsmen echo these nursing home abuse concerns and many of them have prompted lawsuits. In California, the complaints of improper evictions have increased by 70 percent in the last five years. The long-term care state ombudsman has worked with the local ombudsmen programs for 15 years and is responsible for handling consumer complaints.
Many of these disabled and poor individuals who are discharged from nursing homes have no permanent housing or regular medical care after being discharged. The advocates for nursing home patient rights argue that even if these discharges are categorized as legal, they are unethical. With nursing homes being pressured to take on more residents without having the appropriate staff to do so, nursing home abuse may become more problematic..
Better compensation for services and a shortage of affordable long-term care options is pushing these instances of inappropriate evictions. Federal laws, however, do enable a nursing home to evict or discharge a patient when the facility can no longer meet the patient’s needs or if that individual no longer needed services.
Furthermore, the facility is within their rights to act if the patient has failed without appropriate and reasonable notice to pay or if he or she endangers the safety and health of other individuals.
Typically, laws require that the facility provide 30 days of notice before involuntarily discharging a patient and all discharges have to be orderly as well as safe.
These complaints represent the top issue reported to nursing home ombudsmen and concerns about access to information and nursing home abuse come behind them.
The number of complaints that are made can vary significantly from one state to another, but in some places, the number of affected victims is growing significantly.
If you believe that your loved one has been subject to nursing home abuse and you are concerned about protecting his or her rights, schedule a consultation with the experienced lawyers at McDonald Worley..
The lawyers at McDonald Worley are currently investigating claims of nursing home abuse – get help today.