Nursing home tip sheet from Massachusetts is Relevant to All
By nursing-home-lawyer | April 13, 2007
Here’s a great tip sheet for nursing home residents and the people who love them. It’s written for people in Massachusetts, but the principles are relevant for all of us. Go here to find the ombudsman in your state.
A GOOD AGE: Nursing home tip sheet
A few suggestions of things you should know if you have a family member or friend in a nursing home:-Every resident has the right to choose their physician. The facility must provide names of physicians who oversee the care of residents; except in rural areas, most homes have several available. ‘‘I never even knew I had a choice,’’ said Caulfield. Residents can use their own family doctor if he or she is willing to meet Medicare and Medicaid rules and visit the facility.
- Medicare has specific requirements for how often a doctor or nurse practitioner should see a resident.
A new resident must be seen by a physician once every 30 days for the first 90 days after admission. Then, the resident must be seen by a doctor at least once every 60 days. A nurse-practitioner can substitute for the doctor, but only on every other visit.
- You can check a physician’s record with the state Board of Registration in Medicine at massmedboard.org; click on Physician Profiles. You can look up medical school, hospital training, board certification, or any malpractice settlements, criminal convictions, or discipline by state or hospital boards in the past 10 years.
-To contact the state board of registration in medicine with questions or concerns about a specific doctor, call 617-654-9830.
-You can check a nursing home’s most recent state health inspections. The annual surveys disclose both strong points and problems in quality of care - specific deficiencies are listed - and whether Medicare stopped making payments or halted admissions because of poor care. Go to mass.gov/dph; click on ‘‘nursing home report card.’’
These reports have some good information and useful clues. A nursing home’s overall score is compared with the state’s average score. Then look at specific categories. Have there been problems in the past in infection control? Has the facility failed to evaluate residents with significant changes in their condition?
-When family members are concerned about something, they often speak to the charge nurse. These nurses are extremely busy dispensing medications. It might be better to contact the medical director, the director of nurses, or the social services director. They may have more time or authority to investigate a problem. The nursing aides follow directions in residents’ charts from the doctors or nurses.
- You can report complaints about quality of care to the state Department of Public Health at 617-753-8160 or the hotline at 800-462-5540. You will be asked to file a written report. The address is: Department of Public Health, Complaint Unit, 99 Chauncy St., 2nd Floor, Boston 02111.
-Another source of help is the ombudsman program in the Office of Elder Affairs at 617-727-7750.
Local ombudsmen program directors are Patti White at South Shore Elder Services in Braintree at 781-848-3939, Ext. 323; Lila Burgess at Old Colony Planning Council in Brockton at 508-583-1833, Ext. 205; and Marilyn Peters or Susan Luvin at HESSCO Elder Services in Sharon at 781-784-4944, Ext. 240.
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Topics: Boston Nursing Homes |
