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SACRAMENTO, CA — October 9, 2006 — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law several bills concerning nursing homes and other housing facilities for the elderly. The legislation raises state nursing home inspection standards, improves the rights of residents in uncertified nursing homes, and requires training for residential care facility employees who distribute medication to seniors. Details follow below.
Effective July 1, 2007, the California Department of Health Services (DHS) must inspect all nursing homes for violations of both federal and California laws (Ch. 895, SB 1312). The inspection should focus on those California statutes and regulations that provide stricter standards than federal laws. These include laws on minimum staffing requirements, nurse assistant requirements, and nursing home abuse.
The legislation was necessary, according to its author, because many California laws relating to nursing homes were not being enforced. The DHS performed routine inspections that covered only federal law and had no specific duty to check nursing homes that were certified to take Medicare patients.
A new law, Ch. 530, SB 1248, gives residents in uncertified California nursing homes the same rights as those in certified nursing homes. Certification refers to the authority to take Medicare patients. The newly specified rights for residents of uncertified nursing homes include choosing one’s own doctor, receiving proper notice before being evicted from a nursing home, and certain rules relating to room transfers, nursing home readmissions and eviction appeals. Uncertified nursing homes account for about 20% of nursing homes in the state.
Also known as a board and care home, a California residential care facility or RCFE typically offers rooms within a house, and sometimes within a large complex. It is licensed and monitored by the California Department of Social Services. Under a new law, every employee of a RCFE who distributes medicines to residents for self–administration is required to complete a 16–hour training program, which must be developed by the facility with the help of a doctor, licensed nurse or pharmacist. (Ch. 615, AB 2609).
The training must discuss the responsibilities and limitations of staff in assisting with medication, the side effects of medicines, and the different types of medication orders such as over–the–counter and controlled. The course should also cover forms, procedures, methods of storing medicines, documentation and terminology. As part of the training, the employee must pass an examination. A licensed nurse or pharmacist will review the RCFE’s medication management program at least twice a year.
Brayton Purcell is concerned with the quality of care provided by nursing homes and other long–term care facilities, including those in California, where our main office is located. If you have questions about an elderly relative in a nursing home or residential care facility who may be experiencing elder abuse or neglect, please feel free to contact us. We can review your potential case free of charge and advise you of your legal choices. Our firm is experienced in elder abuse law, including nursing home violations, elder neglect, negligence, and pain management issues.
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