Things Nursing Homes in Florida Are Not Allowed to Do

We turn to nursing homes to help care for some of our most vulnerable citizens. Making the decision that your aging loved one needs more careful attention and care than you can provide is a difficult process, but once made, you look to the nursing home you’ve carefully chosen to provide your aging relative with the care, attention, and living space that he or she needs to continue living life to the fullest possible. You also expect nursing homes to abide by all applicable laws and regulations. When this isn’t the case, the results can be devastating.

The Nursing Home Can Not Cut the Resident out of His or Her Care Plan 

Upon entering the nursing home, your loved one will undergo a health assessment that evaluates all of the following:

• His or her physical and mental health
• His or her ability to take care of daily tasks, such as getting dressed, eating meals, bathing, using the toilet, and speaking
• His or her ability to make important decisions for himself or herself

This information contributes to the nursing home’s ongoing care plan for your aging relative, which guides the care and medical attention provided by the staff. Nursing homes in Florida must allow residents to participate in this process, and if the resident is unable to do so, the nursing home must allow a trusted stand-in (such as a sibling, spouse, or adult child) to do so on the person’s behalf. 

The Nursing Home Cannot Force Money Management on Its Residents

Nursing homes can offer money management services to their residents, but they are not allowed to force such services on their residents. All of the following rules apply:

• The nursing home cannot serve as a financial custodian for a resident without his or her express written permission.
• The nursing home must provide those residents who do consent to using their financial services with a quarterly financial statement.
• The nursing home cannot prevent a resident from having access to his or her own bank accounts, financial documents, and/or cash.
• If a resident deposits more than $50 into an account managed by the nursing home, the funds must earn interest.

Nursing Homes Cannot Engage in the Inhumane Treatment of Residents 

Every nursing home resident has the right to be treated with the dignity and respect every person deserves. This right extends to making personal decisions for oneself, including decisions about when to go to bed, when to arise, what time to eat one’s meals, which activities to engage in, and more – as long as these don’t interfere with the individual’s personalized care plan. 

An extension of this is that nursing homes are obviously not allowed to engage in any practices that amount to negligence or abuse of a resident, which can include any of the following:

• Inadequate hydration, nutrition, assistance with personal hygiene, sanitation, physical assistance, attention to medication schedules, and other forms of negligence
• Physical abuse, such as rough treatment that is injurious
• Emotional abuse, such as verbally belittling residents or preventing them from interacting socially
• Financial abuse
• Sexual abuse

Reach out to an Experienced St. Petersburg Personal Injury Attorney Today 

If you are concerned that your loved one is being neglected, abused, or otherwise mistreated by his or her nursing home, the seasoned St. Petersburg nursing home attorneys at Tragos, Sartes & Tragos are here to help. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact us online or call us at (727) 441-9030.