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The most common types of neglect and abuse are malnutrition, falls, dehydration, pressure sores, infections, burns, and assaults. Staffing and training deficiencies often cause these injuries. If your loved ones are victims of neglect or abuse in a nursing or residential facility, there are probably other residents in the facility who are also being neglected or abused; in fact there is probably a continuing pattern of neglect at the facility. The facility's history of violations of both federal and state law can show this pattern. Our firm will aggressively pursue all forms of neglect, abuse and assault.
Here is a thumbnail of what federal law requires in the nursing home context. In order for nursing homes to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid programs, they must comply with the federal requirements for long term care facilities as prescribed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (42 CFR Part 483). They must:
- Promote each residents' quality of life (42 CFR 483.15)
- Maintain the dignity and respect of each resident (42 CFR 483.15)
- Conduct initially a comprehensive and accurate assessment of each residents' functional capacity (42 CFR 483.20)
- Develop a comprehensive care plan for each resident (42 CFR 483.20)
- Prevent the deterioration of a residents' ability to bathe, dress, groom, transfer and ambulate, toilet, eat and communicate (42 CFR 483.25)
- Provide, if resident is unable to carry out activities of daily living , the necessary services to maintain good nutrition, grooming and personal oral hygiene (42 CFR 483.25)
- Ensure that residents receive proper treatment and assistive devices to maintain vision and hearing abilities (42 CFR 483.25)
- Ensure that residents do not develop pressure sores and, if a resident has pressure sores, provide the necessary treatment and service to promote healing, prevent infection, and prevent new sores from developing (42 CFR 483.25)
- Provide appropriate treatment and services to the incontinent residents to restore as much normal bladder functioning as possible (42 CFR 483.25)
- Ensure that the resident receives adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents (42 CFR 483.25)
- Maintain acceptable parameters of nutritional status (42 CFR 483.25)
- Provide each resident with sufficient fluid intake to maintain proper hydration and health (42 CFR 483.25)
- Ensure that residents are free of any significant medication errors (42 CFR 483.25)
- Have sufficient nursing staff (42 CFR 483.30)
- Ensure that the resident has the right to choose activities, schedules and health care (42 CFR 483.40)
- Provide pharmaceutical services to meet the needs of each resident (42 CFR 483.60)
- Be administered in an manner that enables the nursing home to use its resources effectively and efficiently (42 CFR 483.75)
- Maintain accurate, complete and easily accessible clinical records on each resident (42 CFR 483.75)
Nursing home patients have specific rights, including:
- ability to make independent choices
- access to information
- concerns and complaints
- dignity, respect and freedom
- participation in care
- privacy and confidentiality
- security for possessions
- transfers and discharges
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