How To File File A Complaint Regarding A Nursing Home Or Other Health Care Facility
Please note: to protect patient and resident privacy, all complaints must be made by fax, mail, or telephone. Do not use email for any complaint materials.
Please note: to protect patient and resident privacy, all complaints must be made by fax, mail, or telephone. Do not use email for any complaint materials.
What Agency Is Right For Your Complaint
Certain complaints are handled better by other agencies. If your problem concerns a mistreatment of an adult outside of a care facility,financial fraud, Medicaid or Medicare, a physician, nurse or medical clinic, please see our list of other agencies to contact.
Consumer Guide: Consumer Information Reports For Nursing Homes And Facilities For People With Developmental Disabilities
Each year, the Division of Quality Assurance creates Consumer Information Reports. The reports have details about each Wisconsin nursing home and facility serving people with developmental disabilities . Reports mention any federal violations and staff information.
The goal of the reports is to help people who live or plan to live at these facilities. They can use the reports to judge the quality of care they will, or do, get.
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State And Territorial Boards Of Nursing: What Every Nurse Needs To Know
This brochure offers nurses an explanation of what boards of nursing do for the profession and those who work in it. This brochure provides information regarding:
- A BON’s investigation into violations of a state’s nurse practice act
- The process for filing a complaint against a nurse who has exhibited unsafe, negligent or incompetent behavior
- What a nurse can expect while their complaint is being investigated
Next Steps For File A Complaint Regarding A Nursing Home Or Other Health Care Facility
After filing a complaint
How we respond
Our agency reviews the facts of each complaint to see if the health care facility may have violated any State and Federal regulations. Complaints are responded to in a variety of ways. This includes:
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Documenting Warning Signs Of Nursing Home Abuse
If you suspect a loved one is being harmed, note any possible signs the moment your suspicions are raised.
Keeping track of the signs of nursing home abuse and neglect can make it easier to report them later on. It can also strengthen the case if it results in a criminal case or nursing home abuse lawsuit.
To start, write down when you first noticed negative changes in your loved one and include as much detail as possible of when, where, and how the abuse occurred.
It may also be helpful to take photos as evidence if you think your loved one is suffering from neglect or physical abuse.
Get Help From The Area Ombudsman
If a problem affecting an individual or group of residents cannot be resolved with staff, you may want on behalf of an affected individual or group of residents to contact the Office of Ombudsman for Older Minnesotans. This is an advocacy agency with ten regional offices around the state that negotiate and/or mediate disputes between residents or their families and the management of nursing homes to bring about positive change for residents. If the nursing home resident resides in the metro area, call 651-431-2555, or look up an ombudsman near you.
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Reporting In Health Facilities
These guidelines describe the two different processes for reporting a complaint against a licensed healthcare facility regarding concerns or allegations of ANE, injuries of unknown origin, and death.
The two process for reporting are as follows:
Licensed healthcare facilities include hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home health agencies and hospice agencies, dialysis centers, ambulatory surgical centers, freestanding birth centers, diagnostic and treatment clinic, limited diagnostic and treatment clinic, community mental health centers and intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities, rural health centers, outpatient physical therapy and speech pathology, and portable x-ray.
To report abuse, injuries of unknown origin, death or file a complaint, Choose the appropriate process to report for Consumers, Family Members, and General Public or Health Facility Representatives. It is important for you to identify with one of these types and follow the respective process.
NOTE:If you need to file a report against a home or community-based Medicaid waiver program, do not follow the instructions below. Instead, please visit our Reporting in Home & Community-Based Medicaid Waiver Programs page.
Nursing Home Complaint Investigations
All complaint and incidents received about nursing homes are reviewed by the Department through the Centralized Complaint Intake Unit with appropriate action taken. Some investigations require Department investigators to conduct interviews, review medical records and other facility documentation, and perform other activities onsite at the nursing home. Other investigations will be conducted by the Complaint Resolution Unit comprised of clinical professionals, who will contact the facility to obtain medical records, facility records, and other information to determine the outcome of the investigation.
The investigation will determine whether a facility has failed to meet federal and/or state requirements. In cases where the Department determines the nursing home violates regulation, the Department will issue a citation to the nursing home. The facility then must submit a plan of correction that is acceptable to the Department and correct the deficient practice.
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General Information About The Complaint Process
If you are experiencing a problem with care provided in a Minnesota nursing home or assisted living facility, your first concern is probably how to get the problem resolved for the well-being of the resident. Beyond that, if the problem is serious, likely to affect many people and/or is not effectively dealt with by those responsible, you may want to lodge a formal complaint against those you feel are responsible for the problem. Heres the approach recommended by our board.
Consumer Guide: Problems With Nursing Homes Or Residential Care Facilities
The Division of Quality Assurance is in charge of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of people who use health and residential care services in Wisconsin. You have the right to file a complaint with DQA. File a complaint if you think a caregiver or provider that DQA regulates has broken the law.
This page has what you need to know to report a nursing home or residential care facility. Expand each section to learn more.
There are several ways to file a complaint against a provider regulated by DQA. You may use one of these methods or you may use an option specific to a provider type:
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How To Report Nursing Home Abuse And Neglect
Nursing home abuse is a serious crime that can quickly worsen and even turn deadly if not stopped. There are many ways that you can report nursing home abuse, from local agencies to national organizations.
Nursing home abuse can also be reported by:
- Connecting with an ombudsman
- Contacting Adult Protective Services in your state
- Working with doctors and other medical personnel
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Understanding The Complaint And Incident Summary Report
The Complaint and Incident Summary Report presents information about complaints and incidents.
Complaints and Incidents Received
Information is presented at the Facility and Statewide level for the following information:
- Received
- The number of complaints and incidents, which were received by the Department during the reporting period.
- Received per 100 Occupied Beds
- This rate demonstrates the number of complaints and incidents received per 100 occupied beds. Occupied beds are approximated by taking the daily occupancy rate data from the most recent year’s audited Nursing Home Cost Report. This rate allows the user to compare a specific facility’s complaint experience with that of other homes or a statewide average.
Complaints and Incidents On-site Inspections
Information is presented at the Facility, and Statewide level for the following information:
Citations by Deficiency Category:
A single complaint or incident may result in multiple citations, which are included within the Statement of Deficiencies. The Citations by Deficiency Category presents information about the citations issued as a result of the Department’s inspections. The information includes:
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Reporting A Nursing Home For Medicaid Fraud
In order to report a nursing home for Medicaid fraud, you must contact the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration . You can file a report online or call the Florida AHCA at 419-3456.
When you file your report, you will need to provide as much of the following information as possible:
- The name of the nursing home
- The nursing homes Medicaid ID number
- The date on which you or your loved one received care at the nursing home
- The amount of money involved
- An explanation of why you have concerns about Medicaid fraud
If a nursing home has committed Medicaid fraud, there is a good chance that it has also engaged in other fraudulent acts. For example, in addition to overbilling Medicare, nursing homes will often overbill their residents as well.
As a result, residents and loved ones who have concerns about possible billing fraud should carefully review their contracts, invoices, and account statements. They should also consult with a nursing home abuse attorney if they have any concerns.
What Information Is Required To Submit A Complaint
A trained IDOH Complaint Department staff member will guide you through the process of submitting a complaint by asking a series of questions. You do not have to have all the answers to submit your complaint. You will, at a minimum, need to know the name of the facility or entity and the address, including city or town, where the licensed healthcare facility or entity is located.
Additional information that may be helpful when submitting your complaint includes, but is not limited to:
- Name of any resident, patient or client affected
- Name of staff member or facility/ entity personnel involved
- Date and/or time of the alleged incident
- A brief description of your concern
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File A Complaint With Msdh
If you would prefer to make a complaint by phone, call 800-227-7308 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Please include as much information as possible on the form below. The response and timing of any investigation by Mississippi State Department of Health will be based upon the information you provide.
If you wish to remain completely anonymous do not complete the section “Who Is Filing This Complaint?”. You may choose to remain completely anonymous. If you do, however, MSDH will not be able to contact you to obtain additional information or notify you of the results of the investigation.
Reporting Nursing Home Negligence
NCEA defines nursing home neglect as a type of elder abuse caused by a lack of proper care and attention. It is commonly caused by nurses, caregivers, and aides who provide substandard care or fail to provide necessary caregiver duties to keep elderly patients safe from harm.
According to the U. S. Department of Justice, caregiver neglect is the main cause of injury for elderly adults in nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and private in-home care. For every case that gets reported, 57 cases go unreported. To prevent harm, family members and friends with loved ones in nursing homes should watch for signs of neglect and abuse and report them to the proper authorities:
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Life Safety Code Inspections
During a Life Safety Code Inspection the inspection team will review whether the life safety code requirements as established by the National Fire Protection Agency are met. The LSC inspection covers a wide range of aspects of fire protection, including construction, protection and operational features designed to provide safety from fire, smoke, and panic.
When regulatory requirements have not been met, the nursing facility must submit a plan of correction to the Department. The Department must find the plan acceptable before the facility is found to be back in compliance. The providers may be fined for each violation cited. Survey results must be made available to residents, families and other interested parties.
Since actual survey results can be technically or medically complex and sometimes difficult to interpret, the Department has created Inspection Reports to present this information in a manner that is more understandable to the general public. These reports will help consumers compare, evaluate and choose a nursing home. For each nursing home, information is presented in a Summary and Detail section. All information is updated on a monthly basis to reflect the most three recent Certification Surveys, and the last three years of Complaint Surveys.
When Should You Report A Nursing Home
Many people arent sure when it is time to report a nursing home. Residents and loved ones often give nursing homes the benefit of the doubt, and nursing home administrators and caregivers will often attempt to hide evidence of fraud, neglect, and abuse.
If you have any concerns, you should seek help. There is a good chance that your concerns are valid, and it is extremely unlikely that any ongoing issues will end on their own. Abuse, neglect, and fraud are pervasive in many Florida nursing homes, and far too many residents suffer needlessly when they and/or their loved ones could speak up and get help.
The following are all examples of issues that justify reporting a nursing home and consulting with an attorney about your legal rights:
- Unexplained physical injuries
- Unexplained weight gain or weight loss
- Unwanted physical contact of any kind
- Verbal or psychological abuse
- Excessive bills or unauthorized charges
- Missing cash, checks, credit cards, or items of personal property
- Bedsores or other evidence of neglect
- Periods of isolation or elopement
- Inability to communicate with friends or family members
- Inadequate access to medications or failure to administer medications
- Inadequate access to the restroom or basic hygienic care
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Your State Board Of Nursing Works For You: A Health Care Consumer’s Guide
This brochure explains how a board of nursing protects the public and
- Serves as a guide for consumers who have experienced or witnessed a nurse exhibiting unsafe, negligent or incompetent behavior
- Explains what consumers can expect when a complaint is being investigated
- Defines various nursing roles and responsibilities
How To Use The Consumer Information Reports
We list the report for each nursing home or FDD at the bottom of this page. Facility names are in ABC order. You can search and filter the list by your city/town/village or county. You also can select a column heading to change the list order. When you find a facility to view, select the Publication Number link. It will take you to the most recent reports.
Note: Some nursing homes or FDDs may not have a report. This is because they are state licensed, which means they don’t accept patients with Medicare or Medicaid. They also may be too new to have a report. We don’t include facilities that have closed.
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Doctors And Medical Experts
It can be hard to know the difference between symptoms of normal aging and mistreatment. Problems like bruised skin, frequent falls, bedsores, and dehydration are not always evidence of neglect or abuse. This is where a medical experts opinion can help.
are in a unique place to be able to comprehensively look at a patient. They have an opportunity to identify elder abuse and to reach out to the community or make appropriate referrals to break the cycle of violence or neglect.
Amy Berman, Registered Nurse
Difference In Adult Care Homes From Nursing Homes
The primary difference between adult care homes and nursing homes is as follows:
“Adult Care Homes” provide care and assistance to people with problems carrying out activities of daily living and supervision to people with cognitive impairments whose decisions, if made independently, may jeopardize the safety or well-being of themselves or others and therefore require supervision. Medication in an adult care home may be administered by designated, trained staff. Smaller adult care homes that provide care to two to six unrelated residents are commonly called family care homes.
“Nursing Homes” are for people who need chronic or rehabilitative care, who, on admission are not acutely ill and who do not usually require special facilities such as an operating room, X-ray facilities, laboratory facilities, and obstetrical facilities. A “nursing home” provides care for people who have remedial ailments or other ailments, for which medical and nursing care are indicated who, however, are not sick enough to require general hospital care. Nursing care is their primary need, but they will require continuing medical supervision.
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