Nursing homes are private institutions that are only going to grow in importance. Nursing homes are private institutions that provide shelter and care for people who are old, infirm, sick, or disabled. Nursing homes do provide medical assistance, similar to a hospital. However, they are not treated as hospitals.
Nursing homes do not have physicians on staff. At best, a nursing home may retain a registered nurse to manage the staff. This post will go over the various types of nursing homes and the level of care they are required to dispense to residents.
Federal regulators define four types of nursing facilities, with varying degrees of responsibility, they are:
- Adult boarding facilities.
- Residential care facilities.
- Intermediate care facilities.
- Skilled nursing facilities.
Federal and state law imposes different standards based on the level of care furnished by the facility. The more medical assistance that a nursing home provides, the higher the duty of care it owes to its residents.
Federal guidelines require nursing homes to develop their internal written procedures and policies to prevent mistreatment, abuse, and neglect of residents. It is up to each nursing home to determine the best way to meet those goals.
Has your loved one suffered an injury due to nursing home abuse? If yes, then you may want to speak to a lawyer to review his or her rights. As you can see, nursing home residents are entitled to a substantial number of rights. A lawyer can go over the situation and help steer you from theoretical rights to substantive causes of action.
