30
2010
California’s Nursing Home Law Reaffirms Requirement of Proper Staffing Ratios in Nursing Care Facilities
Recent Legislation Will Help Ensure Better Quality Care for Patients and Law Offices of Osofsky and Osofsky Gives Tips on How to Evaluate a Nursing Home
There are new changes in state law regarding California’s skilled nursing homes.
Nursing homes will now face fines if they do not maintain state-mandated staffing requirements under the reauthorization of AB 1629 signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Oct. 19. The state will now have new tools to enforce the existing staffing requirement of 3.2 nursing hours per patient per day, required of all nursing homes licensed in California that receive Medi-Cal or Medicare payments.
These changes were established for accountability’s sake to ensure that all nursing homes meet state requirements. They were designed to reinforce the Long Term Care Reimbursement Act of 2004, which increased funding for nursing homes to help them meet these staffing requirements. Until now, the 2004 act had not fully met its goal of improving patient care.
The new law will also increase the number of auditors investigating the nursing homes. It will also establish fines for those who are non-compliant.
“The reason for this legislation was to provide better enforcement of the required staffing ratios in nursing homes, in order to improve the quality of patient care,” said Gene Osofsky of the Law Offices of Osofsky and Osofsky, which specializes in elder law, estate planning and trust administration.
Skilled nursing homes and care facilities will face penalties and fines if they do not meet the staffing requirements as required by law. Although some nursing homes already staff at the state’s requirement, others will now be forced to comply through imposition of fines and penalties. “We hope that the new law will provide better enforcement of the required staffing and improve the quality of care for patients,” Osofsky said.
Gene Osofsky also gives tips on how to choose and evaluate a proper nursing care facility. Gene Osofsky is a lawyer who also deals with nursing care issues.
“What’s more important than a nice looking facility is the quality of care. One must look at how the residents in the nursing home are being attended to and how well they are being treated and respected. Try to visit a facility at a time that hasn’t been prearranged in order to get an unrehearsed version of how the place operates,” Osofsky said.
To learn more about elder law and The Law Offices of Osofsky & Osofsky, visit http://www.lawyerforseniors.com/.
Categories
Archives
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- November 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- March 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009