Nursing homes are intended to provide a place of care and safety for the frail and elderly. Loved ones who place their relatives in a nursing home do not take the decision lightly, and it can be difficult to place all trust in the care providers. Unfortunately, there has been some horrific stories of nursing home neglect, particularly in Ohio.

This blog will offer a brief overview into the rights that nursing home residents have to proper care and standards of living, and how relatives and loved ones can go about defending those rights if they feel that nursing home neglect has taken place.

Types of health care facilities

The law distinguishes between four different types of care facilities. The reason for this distinction is because of the different levels of care offered. From the lowest to highest levels of care, these are “adult boarding facilities,” “residential care facilities,” “intermediate care facilities” and “skilled nursing facilities.”

Nursing home resident rights

There are detailed federal guidelines that lay out the rights of nursing home residents, and each nursing home or care unit must develop their own policies and procedures to ensure that these are adhered to. These rights include but are not limited to:

• The right to have contact with family members, doctors, attorneys and state representatives
• The right to their personal possessions unless they present a danger
• The right to choose their own doctor
• The right to privacy, from their own rooms to their own private meetings with family
• The right to be fully informed on their medical care

If you believe that a loved one’s rights have been compromised, it is important to try to gather evidence of this mistreatment and speak to a legal professional if necessary.

Source: Findlaw, “Legal rights of nursing home residents,” accessed Aug. 25, 2017