Nursing Home Litigation

Reform Act

The U.S. Congress passed the Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA) in 1987. Under the provisions of the NHRA, nursing homes are required to provide certain services, such as periodic assessments and care plans for each elderly patient, nursing care, rehabilitation, food service, pharmacy service, and social services, including a full-time social worker in facilities with more than 120 patients.

The NHRA was developed in an effort to protect nursing home residents from incidents of abuse. It guarantees to residents of long-term care facilities the right to "a dignified existence, self-determination and communication", including protection in the following areas:

• RespectA nursing home resident has the right to be treated with dignity and respect, with freedom from abuse, discrimination, and neglect.
• Services and FeesThe nursing home must inform the resident about the services to which she is entitled and all nursing home fees.
• Money and Personal PropertyA resident has the right to manage his own money or to choose someone else to manage it for him. If the nursing home manages the resident's funds, the resident has the right to a full accounting of expenditures.
• PrivacyA resident is entitled to privacy in her care and in her personal business and communications.
• Medical CareA resident has the right to participate in his own medical care by choosing a personal physician, assisting in care planning, and refusing medication or treatment. A resident has the right to be fully informed about his medical condition.

Any violation of these rights or failure of a nursing home to provide the required services may be considered an act of abuse. While laws vary from state to state, each of the 50 states has enacted some form of elder abuse protection to uphold patient rights.