Patients Face Problems in Ohio Nursing Homes
By Barry Zimmer on May 30th, 2017 in Elder Law
Nursing home planning is very important because many nursing home patients face problems with the level of care that they receive. Paying for a nursing home is also very difficult for many seniors in Ohio, as the costs of care are very expensive. Zimmer Law Firm can assist you in identifying a plan to pay for care and can help you to take steps to do your research and find the right care facility in case you ever must move into a nursing home.
Finding the right nursing home and making sure that you can pay for it is more important than ever in light of news about problems in many nursing homes in Ohio. Call Zimmer Law Firm today to talk with a Cincinnati nursing home planning lawyer about how our legal team can help you.
Problems in Ohio Nursing Homes
10 TV recently reported on serious problems with many nursing homes located throughout the state of Ohio. According to the troubling report, most facilities in Ohio are not living up to their obligations to patients.
10TV obtained investigative records from the Department of Health in the state and discovered that
nursing home facilities, on average, had between five and six deficiencies each year. Some of these deficiencies were very serious. For example, some homes were found not to be providing necessary care and services to senior residents. Other nursing homes were found to be deficient in providing proper treatment to help patients avoid the development of bed sores.
Unfortunately, many patients do not know about the serious problems with nursing facilities and do not have time to do research when they need to move into a nursing home. 10TV told the story of one woman who had cracked a hip and was hospitalized. The hospital decided that it was time for her to be discharged, even though she did not believe that she was ready, and the hospital gave her only 15 minutes time to select a rehabilitation facility from a list.
All of the facilities that were on the list that she had been given either were not covered by insurance or did not have open beds at the time when she needed to be discharged. She was ultimately able to select a facility, but because of the very limited choices and the lack of time provided to her, she chose one that she did not end up being happy with.
In fact, she indicated that the second the medics had brought her to the facility, that she immediately regretted having selected it. The problem: the facility was “visibly filthy.” Her experience was not an isolated one, as many people who move temporarily or permanently into nursing homes indicate that they too have found facilities to be substandard.
The state longterm care ombudsman who investigates patient complaints has indicated that new federal guidelines will hopefully help to improve conditions so patient needs are better addressed and so nursing home facilities will be forced to change the ways in which they operate.
One big change imposed by federal law: nursing homes now must provide written notice of discharging patients to the patient’s families, to the patient, and to the sate longterm care ombudsman. This change is an important one because the ombudsman has indicated that one of the leading sources of complaints in the past has related to patients being discharged without knowing their rights.
Patients and their families are hopefully that all of the federal guidelines will usher in positive changes that can solve some of the many problems Ohio nursing home residents are experiencing.
Getting Help from An Ohio Nursing Home Planning Lawyer
An Ohio nursing home planning lawyer can provide assistance in researching different care facilities in the state of Ohio so you can find out which facilities have had complaints and which have been cited for deficiencies. Our legal team can also assist you in planning ahead in case you ever must go into a nursing home so you and your loved ones do not need to make the decision quickly while under time pressure. This can lead to bad outcomes, which could be avoided with more advanced planning.
To find out more about preparing in advance in case you need nursing home care and to learn about the way in which an Ohio nursing home planning lawyer can help you, join us for a free seminar. If you are ready for personalized advice and assistance in making your plans, give us a call at 513.721.1513 today.