Citizens over 55 years old have special rights..
An elderly citizen has rights even if they live in a nursing home.
At the Rasansky Law Firm, we fight to defend the rights of every
nursing home resident.
Often, the very people who violate the rights
of nursing home residents are responsible for caring for the victim's
day-to-day needs. Elderly citizens in nursing homes are extremely
vulnerable to violations of their rights because they are medically
frail and often have mental impairments, making them powerless
against abusive behavior.
Nursing home residents do not have to tolerate
violations of their rights. Nursing homes are required by law to
assure that nursing homes receiving Medicaid funds "implement
and enforce" the Rights of the Elderly.
Some of The Rights of the Elderly include the
following:
An elderly individual may not be physically or
mentally abused or exploited. This type of abuse includes involuntary
seclusion, intimidation, humiliation, harassment, hitting, slapping,
and verbal abuse that includes disparaging or derogatory terms.
An elderly individual may not be physically or
chemically restrained unless the restraint is necessary in an emergency
to protect the elderly individual or others from injury after the
individual harms or threatens to harm himself or another; or is
authorized in writing by a physician for a limited and specific
period of time. Tying a nursing home resident to a bed or chair
to prevent them from moving freely is a violation of an elder person's
rights. Convenience, irritation and anger are not legal excuses
for restraining a person.
An elderly individual should be treated with respect,
consideration and recognition of their dignity and individuality.
An individual should receive personal care and private treatment.
A nursing home resident should, at all times, be dressed, well
groomed and clean. They should be allowed to express preferences
about food, sleeping, and waking times. All treatment and personal
care should be given in private. A nursing home must treat its
residents with dignity.
An elderly individual may not be denied appropriate
care on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex,
age, handicap, marital status, or source of payment. Nursing homes
cannot provide better care for private-pay or Medicare residents
than they do for Medicaid recipients, who are generally less profitable
for the nursing home.
An elderly individual may voice grievances or
recommend changes in policy or service without restraint, interference,
coercion, discrimination or reprisal. The service provider must
develop procedures for submitting complaints and recommendations
by elderly individuals and for assuring a response by service provider.
Nursing home residents are also afforded certain "Quality
of Care" rights. Specifically, each nursing home resident
is entitled to receive - and the facility must provide - the necessary
care and services to attain or maintain the highest practicable
physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being. In order to do this,
a nursing home must insure that a resident's abilities in activities
of daily living do not diminish unless the resident's clinical
condition shows that the situation is unavoidable.
This includes the resident's abilities to bathe,
dress and groom; transfer and ambulate; use the restroom; eat;
and use speech language, or other functional communication systems.
If a resident is unable to carry out activities of daily living,
the nursing home must provide the necessary services for the resident
to maintain good nutrition, grooming, and personal hygiene.
If a loved is in a nursing home and you feel that
have been abused or neglected, please contact The Rasansky Law
Firm immediately to discuss your legal rights and options regarding
your loved one in a nursing home.
For more information about
Nursing Home Claims, you can also visit www.nursinghomelawyer.com,
a Rasansky Law Firm speciality site devoted exclusively to Nursing
Home Claims, Nursing Home Abuse, Nursing Home Neglect, and Nursing
Home Rights.
Signs that a Loved
One In A Nursing Home could be in trouble include Behavioral
Problems, Changes
In Physical Conditions, Dehydration,
and Immobility to name a few.
