December 2009 :: Florida Injury Lawyers Blog

As is well known, Florida has a large population of individuals over the age of sixty-five (65). Many of these individuals are, or will eventually become, residents of a nursing home or an assisted living facility (ALF). Moreover, the number of individuals in nursing homes/ALFs throughout the country is projected to increase dramatically over the next two to three decades due to the aging baby boomer population. Although most individuals adamantly state that they never “want to live in a nursing home facility,” the fact remains that many elderly individuals will, at some point in their lives, be admitted to a nursing home facility. Such an admission may be for short term stay, for example, where the individual is admitted for rehabilitation purposes after a hip replacement surgery. Other stays will be for the long term, and many an elderly person may in fact live out his/her life at a nursing home facility. Florida nursing homes are governed by the Statute entitled Nursing Homes and Related Healthcare Facilities (Florida Statute 400).

Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) are an alternative to nursing homes and in many cases may be a suitable alternative to nursing home confinement where the resident is not in need of skilled nursing care. As in the case of Florida nursing homes, Florida ALFs must go through a licensing process and be approved by the State of Florida. It must be emphasized that ALFs, in contrast to nursing home facilities, do not provide on-site nursing care. ALFs are generally allowed only to administer doctor-prescribed medications to the resident, which are ideally dispensed by the pharmacy in unit dose packs. Moreover, ALFs must not accept or keep as residents any individual who has physical or mental health issues which require skilled medical treatment or which would pose either a danger to the individual or other residents of the nursing home facility. Assisted Living Facilities are governed by Florida Statute 429.

Elderly individuals confined to a nursing home are ripe candidates for negligent care and abuse due to their vulnerability, whether physical (e.g., frailness); mental (e.g., dementia or Alzheimer’s), or a combination of the two. The Florida legislature has made it very clear that such residents are entitled to certain rights and privileges through a law commonly known as the Nursing Home Resident Bill of Rights (Florida Statute Chapter 400 s.022). Every Florida nursing home resident resident or his /her legal representative should be provided with a copy of the “Bill of Rights” at the time of admission. In brief, residents’ rights, under Florida Statute 400.022, include the following:

1. The right to civil and religious freedom.
2. The right to private and uncensored communication.
3. The right to have reasonable access to the resident by an entity or individual that provides health, social, legal or other services to residents of nursing homes.
4. The right of a resident to present grievances, i.e., providing a forum where grievances can be presented.
5. The right to organize and participate in resident groups.
6. The right to participate in social, religious, and community activities.
7. The right to examine the results of the most recent federal or state inspection of the facility.
8. The right to manage his or her own financial affairs.
9. The right to be fully informed at the time of admission and throughout of services available in the facility and the related charges for such services.
10. The right to be adequately informed of his or her medical condition and proposed treatment, including the right to refuse medication and treatment.
11. The right to refuse medication or treatment and to be informed of the consequences.
12. The right to receive, in a nursing home, adequate and appropriate healthcare and protective and support services, including social, mental, recreational, therapeutic and rehabilitative services consistent with the resident’s care plan and with established and recognized practice standards.
13. The right to privacy and treatment and in caring for the resident’s personal needs, including the right to confidentiality of their medical records.
14. The right to be treated courteously, fairly, and with the fullest measure of dignity.
15. The right to be free from mental and physical abuse, corporal punishment, extended but involuntary seclusion and to be free from physical and chemical restraints, except those restraints authorized by a physician for a specified and limited period of time or as necessitated by emergency.
16. The right to be transferred or discharged only for medical reasons or for the welfare of other residents.
17. The right to freedom of choice in selecting a personal physician.
18. The right to retain and use personal clothing and possessions.
19. The right to have copies of the facility’s rules and regulations.
20. The right to receive notice before a resident’s room is changed.
21. The right to be informed of the bed reservation policy for hospitalization.
22. For recipients of Medicaid or Medicare, the right to challenge the decision by the facility to discharge or transfer.