Finding a quality nursing home for your loved one needs to involve researching a prospective facility’s history of violations to make sure it is a safe environment. You might also choose to check deeper into a nursing home program’s background when you begin to develop concerns about abuse or neglect.
Nursing homes are regulated by layers of federal, state and local laws and regulations. When someone reports a violation, a thorough investigation is conducted. Once the investigators reach a decision, the reports are then typically made public. Nursing home violations often include failures to meet established health, staffing or resident-care standards that include issues such as making medication errors or providing inadequate supervision.
Researching violations helps you spot potential warning signs before your loved one is admitted to a nursing home. If you are already facing a suspected violation of your loved one’s right to safe care, then conducting research could also reveal a history of similar cases of mistreatment. Knowing how to look up and review reliable records and understand what a violation means empowers you to make the best possible decisions for your loved one’s care.
Start By Checking Government Websites to Identify Nursing Home Violations
Nursing home violations can often be found by checking Medicare’s Care Compare tool. Here, you can look up prospective nursing homes by using your preferred area’s zip code or city name. You can then look up the dates and results of health and fire safety inspection reports, along with details about staffing practices and quality measures. You might also be able to see if specific enforcement actions have been taken based upon the results of inspections.
Next, you can move on to checking state health department records. State agencies often conduct inspections and send agents out to investigate complaints. Try checking the state’s health department or nursing home licensing website to find additional reports and enforcement information. As you do, make sure to verify the facility’s identity. Many nursing homes have similar names and locations. Double-checking that a facility has the exact name and address of the one you are considering helps to ensure that you read the correct reports.
You will also want to make sure that you go beyond simply looking at the star ratings. Government websites also provide more details once you select information about a specific facility. In some cases, you might find that a facility with a decent star rating still has violations that you find concerning. Doing thorough research helps you to identify exactly how seriously a facility takes health and safety compliance.
Understand How Inspection Reports Document Incidents and Their Severity
An inspection report identifies areas where a facility failed to meet the necessary requirements. Most reports will provide a description of the problem, the circumstances that an inspector observed, and how the residents were impacted. When violations exist, there should also be clear examples of the corrective actions that are required to be compliant. You might also see follow-up inspections that demonstrate whether these measures were met.
Reading through reports can sometimes reveal varying degrees of violations. Being able to identify whether deficiencies are severe helps you develop a more accurate view of a facility. For instance, a single incident of a documentation problem might not be much of a concern if it was simply due to a misplaced log that is corrected with prompt action. Meanwhile, seeing reports of medication mismanagement and failure to prevent residents from experiencing physical abuse would be cause for serious concern.
Even with minor infractions, you’ll need to be wary of facilities that have repeated violations or ones that occur regularly. Although the facility might not have had a severe incident occur that caused harm to a resident, multiple issues could reflect underlying problems with policies, staffing or training. Considering the dates and context of violations can also be beneficial for developing a realistic understanding of a facility’s practices. Checking several years of records can help your family determine if the facility’s issues are ongoing or have been corrected by recent changes in management or ownership.
Expect Clear Answers to Your Questions to Make an Informed Decision
Quality nursing home programs are based on the belief that transparency is important for resident safety. If you have concerns about things you find during your research, then you should receive clear responses when you bring them up to the nursing home’s team. Before you meet with a prospective facility’s staff members, prepare a list of questions that outlines any concerning findings.
During your discussions about violations on nursing home reports, you can also ask the team to provide documentation of any explanations they provide. For instance, seeing new facility policies could provide reassurance that the appropriate steps were taken to prevent nursing home abuse. While some documents might have restrictions based on privacy laws, such as an employee’s termination, you should ultimately feel as though the facility is trustworthy and committed to providing excellent senior care.
If you are conducting research due to suspicions of abuse, then you will also need to take further steps to ensure that your loved one and other residents are safe. Always contact the appropriate authorities when you have serious concerns about a current or past violation. The nursing home should have a procedure in place for reporting suspected senior abuse.
Once you’ve reported the issue to the nursing home’s administrative team, you may also need to file a police report and contact the state’s nursing home licensing agency. Remember that you never need to wait for proof that abuse is occurring before you report a concern. Instead, initiating an investigation can help prevent a nursing home resident from serious harm.
Whether you have an immediate concern or just want to know how to handle suspected abuse in the future, you’ll also want to plan for contacting a nursing home abuse lawyer. Seeking legal advice can help you make sure your loved one’s rights are upheld, and an experienced lawyer like those at Peterson Law Office can help you recover compensation that might be necessary to cover the cost of medical care, therapy and other services that support your loved one’s recovery.
In a perfect world, nursing home abuse would never happen. But, doing your research and staying alert for signs of mistreatment helps you be a strong advocate for your loved one and the other residents of a nursing home facility.
