When a nursing home in Nebraska and Iowa accepts your loved one as a patient, they take on certain legal responsibilities. The Nursing Home Reform Act is a federal law contained in a larger OBRA (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) of 1987. This twenty-eight year old law requires nursing homes to provide patients with several rights, many of which may or may not be known to the general public.
This Nursing Home Reform Act was a special project of then President Ronald Reagan. President Reagan demanded Congress pass a law that would require all American nursing homes provide care to our nation's elderly in such a way that each and every nursing home resident was reasonably safe from abuse and neglect.
President Ronald Regan's Nursing Home Reform Act established the following rights for all American nursing home residents:
- The right to freedom from abuse, mistreatment, and neglect
- The right to freedom from physical restraints
- The right to privacy
- The right to accommodation of medical, physical, psychological, and social needs
- The right to participate in resident and family groups
- The right to be treated with dignity
- The right to exercise self-determination
- The right to communicate freely
- The right to participate in the review of one's care plan, and to be fully informed in advance about any changes in care, treatment, or change of status in the facility
- The right to voice grievances without discrimination or reprisal
The Nursing Home Reform Act continues to be the law of the land today. These directives form the basis for the all efforts to improve the quality of care and the quality of life for all nursing home residents in America.
The law firm of Burnett Wilson Law, LLP is committed to enforcing these rights. If you believe a loved one in a nursing home has suffered a violation of one of these important rights, contact Burnett Wilson Law at (402) 810-8611 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.