Getting Help Outside the Long–term Care Facility
In many cases, one must go outside the long–term care system for help with a complaint about an elderly relative’s care in a nursing home, residential care or assisted living facility. Ombudsmen, and state and federal agencies can be of assistance. Concerned relatives should try all these options, as the quality of help may vary depending upon personnel, staff workload, training and funding. In complex and persistent situations, professional legal help may be required.
Ombudsmen
Every state is required to have an ombudsman program that handles elder care complaints and advocates for facility improvements. Ombudsmen are usually volunteers who visit nursing homes or assisted living facilities on a regular basis. They have the legal authority to investigate your complaint and will know the types of problems that have been reported at the facility.
Unless you give permission to share your concerns, whatever you say to the ombudsman will be kept confidential. To find an ombudsman in your community, contact the long–term care ombudsman in your state. Washington state residents may check a list of regional ombudsmen arranged by county.
State and Local Government Agencies
You may also file a formal complaint with the state licensing agency (see Documenting Your Complaint). Agency names and procedures vary among the states. Whether or not these agencies adhere to the legally required time limits for beginning and completing an investigation may depend on the number of complaints received and the personnel assigned to them.
In California, the Department of Health Services Licensing and Certification Division (LCD) must initiate an investigation within 10 working days of receiving a complaint about a nursing home. This period is reduced to 24 hours if the complaint involves a threat of death or serious bodily injury. The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform web site provides a list of regional LCD offices, their toll–free telephone numbers, and a sample nursing home complaint form.
The California Department of Social Services (DSS) fields complaints against California residential care facilities for the elderly. The complaint is submitted to the local Community Care Licensing (CCL) office, which generally must make an inspection within 10 days (Health & Safety Code §1569.35).
In Washington, complaints against adult family homes, nursing homes, or boarding homes are filed with the Aging & Adult Services Administration, Department of Health and Social Services. Call the Residential Care Services Complaint Resolution Hotline at 1–800–562–6078 to report elder abuse. A nurse reviews each complaint, evaluates its severity, and passes it on for further investigation. You can also contact the Residential Care Services Office in your community. The Residential Care Services division is required to respond to complaints within 10 working days. The requirement is reduced to two working days if residents are at risk of serious immediate harm.
Police and Adult Protective Services
The local Sheriff, police, or Adult Protective Services generally addresses elder abuse that occurs in the community or in the elder’s apartment or home. However, if you encounter an emergency situation in a long–term care facility (for example, physical violence, sexual abuse, assault, rape), then these local policing agencies should definitely be called. In some communities, local police also have programs that deal with lesser offenses in long–term care facility settings.
The Eldercare Locator (National Center on Elder Abuse) provides a list of emergency telephone numbers to report abuse that occurs in domestic settings and institutions. The Washington Department of Social and Health Services provides a list of Adult Protective Services telephone numbers by county, as does the California Department of Social Services.
Federal Agencies
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration or HCFA) oversees state inspections of long–term care facilities that accept Medicare or Medicaid. You may contact the agency to report a deficiency in a nursing home that the state agency has not resolved. The telephone number is 1–800–HHS–TIPS (1–800–447–8477).
Most states have Medicaid Fraud Control Units, which are usually within the state Attorney General’s Office. These units will investigate abuse and neglect in Medicaid–certified long–term care facilities. You can report actions of individual employees or of the facility.
Law Firms
Going through the Ombudsman and government agencies does not always work. If this route has failed, your best recourse may be to get professional legal help. Although no case has guaranteed results, a good attorney can often cut through red tape and get better responses concerning the care of an elderly relative. See Elder Abuse and Neglect cases.
If you suspect that your loved one has been abused or neglected in a long–term care facility, please feel free to contact the attorneys at Brayton Purcell. We are experienced in the area of elder law, and are zealous in our advocacy of the rights of senior citizens.
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