Nursing Home Quality Standards
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento nursing home abuse lawyer. Many people would like to take care of their elderly loved ones when they reach old age. While many people work hard to provide care for their relatives, there are some people who simply aren’t able to take care of their family members. It could be because their loved one has a chronic medical condition such as dementia that requires professional attention or perhaps there are physical issues involved in caring for their loved one. Whatever the reason, many families trust a nursing home to provide the love and care that they deserve. It is important that families understand how to pick a nursing home to ensure they select a high-quality home.
Keeping Quality Ratings a Secret
When patients ask a hospital for help choosing a nursing home, most hospitals have simply given patients a list of the nursing homes in the area and told them to choose one. This is due to a Medicare law that prevents hospitals from restricting the decisions that patients can make regarding a nursing home choice. While many nursing homes are wonderful, some patients have fallen victim to neglect in the nursing home. This could lead to disasters in nursing homes where patients simply aren’t receiving the care they deserve. When family members go to visit their loved one, it is important that they know how to spot nursing home abuse. Fortunately, some legislation has been introduced that might be changing this trend.
A Paradigm Shift in Nursing Home Legislation
While hospitals will continue to provide patients with a list of the nursing homes in the area, the administration has introduced legislation that could require hospitals to assist patients and their families in finding a care provider by both sharing and applying statistics on nursing homes in California and nationwide. This data should be about quality that will be important in facilitating a patient’s recovery and preventing physical abuse in the nursing home. While some could argue that the Medicare law about restricting choices shouldn’t prevent hospitals from sharing information on nursing home quality, this new law should give hospitals the freedom to share this data without fear of retribution from Medicare. It should cut down on financial abuse in nursing homes as well.
A Reduction in Nursing Home Abuse
Hopefully, this new legislation will give patients and their families the freedom to find nursing homes with better track records and cut back on the rate of nursing home abuse that continues to plague the area. Too many people have fallen victim to nursing homes that don’t live up to the expectations of their patients and their loved ones. When this happens, a nursing home abuse lawyer can help you fight for justice on behalf of your loved one.
Sacramento Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer
My name is Ed Smith, and I’m a Sacramento nursing home abuse lawyer. Anyone with concerns about their nursing home should call me at (916) 921-6400 for free advice. I have a toll-free number that people can use at (800) 404-5400.
I’m a member of the California Million Dollar Advocates Forum. We make up of some of the top rated trial lawyers in the country. In fact, our group has won multiple million-dollar decision for prior clients.
Feel free to view my prior verdicts and settlements here.
Everyone should take a look at some of the review left by prior clients on Avvo, Yelp, and Google.
Image Attribution: Wikimedia Commons – Images in the Public Domain
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