Thomas Pleasant helps people who are being victimized by insurance companies. If you are facing obstacles in getting your insurer to pay a legitimate claim or if your claim has already been denied, Thomas can help you. His areas of special expertise include insurance bad faith cases, long-term disability claims, and property damage and losses as well as personal injury and product liability cases, and situations in which people are being treated unfairly by their employers and as consumers. Thomas represents clients in the Southeast and Mid regions of North Carolina. If you need legal help, contact Thomas today for a free consultation. www.pleasantlaw.com

Pleasant Law Blog (Insurance Claims, Medical Misakes, and Nursing Home Claims)

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Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect

11/17/2008
Thomas Pleasant
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Nursing Home Transparency Act Resurfaces: Good Sign for Consumers and their Lawyers

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Congressmen Pete Stark (D-CA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) just  introduced a revised version of the Nursing Home Transparency and Quality of Care Act of 2008  in the House of Representatives. Apparently this legislation is very much like the original legislation introduced earlier this year by Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Charles Grassley (R-IA). However, this new version has some addtional provisions, such as a new quality assurance and quality improvement demonstration program. A more detailed report about this is available at http://www.mcknights.com/Nursing-Home-Transparency-Act-surfaces-in-House/article/118635/?DCMP=EMC-MCK_Daily

 

As I have stated in previous “blog” entries, many nursing home chains create complex webs of corporations and businesses. This is essentially done in order to avoid liability for nursing home abuse, neglect, injury and wrongful death; and related medical mistakes and malpractice. This law, if passed, will help bring to light the nursing homes’ true ownership structure so that they can be held responsible through lawsuits, when necessary, for hurting their patients and residents.

For more information about medical malpractice claims against doctors, hospitals, nurses, or other healthcare providers; or about nursing home claims against a nursing home or assisted living facility or rest home in North Carolina, contact my office toll free: 888-435-7156. We can arrange to meet with you at your home, some other place convenient to you, or in one of our office locations in Raleigh, Wilmington or Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Labels: Nursing Home Transparency & Ownership
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1 Comments to "Nursing Home Transparency Act Resurfaces: Good Sign for Consumers and their Lawyers"

The bill provides for studies of temporary management; the characteristics of Special Focus Facilities, including ownership; best practices in culture change; and training of nurse aides and supervisors. Dementia management would be added to the initial 75-hour nurse aide.

The one provision that is utmost important is "Mandatory Staffing Levels." That provision was taken out of the bill, probably thinking that it had a better chance of being approved without it. It needs to be put back in!

Many states fought twenty world-wars to get mandatory staffing levels, even then, it was constantly being attacked. In one state, when there was a possibility of cutting Medicaid funding, the industry jumped at the chance to use that funding cut as an excuse to abandon the staffing level requirements.

Federal law only requires nursing homes to provide sufficient staff and services to attain or maintain the highest possible level of physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident, and we know this is insufficient.

There have been numerous federal bills requiring various mandatory staffing levels, only to be defeated or die on the vine. Now is the time for those mandatory staffing levels!

http://cancerfocus.net/cancer_patients_in_nursing_homes/41776

Posted by Gregory D. Pawelski on November 14, 2008 at 01:59 PM

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