Older adults in nursing homes and long-term care residences and their family members should know that they have the right to be treated with respect and dignity, and that in California there are laws to protect them, even more so since the covid pandemic -40. And their rights include making it easier for them to vote in elections.
During the videoconference: “Protecting the rights of long-term care residents”, organized by Ethnic Media Services, defenders of the elderly spoke of the efforts to guarantee their rights, especially since the pandemic, when mortality rates in this age group skyrocketed above any other.
“Nursing homes must have a plan to support voting rights for residents,” states an October 5 memo from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Patients.
But advocates for older adults and people with disabilities are concerned that those rights are not always fulfilled. And the right to vote is just one in a long list of rights for long-term care residents, including the right to health care and quality of life.
Dignified treatment
Blanca Castro, state advocate for long-term care, said there are about 300,10 people in nursing homes in California.
“We have 2, 10 nursing homes and almost 19,10 care residences. Most of the people who are in long-term care homes who cannot pay, or have health insurance are low income, whose payment is covered by MediCal.”
It is important knowing that being in a nursing home or long-term care residence gives you the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
“The Ombudsman’s office is not an agency for police, but it does ensure that the rights of people who are in nursing homes and long-term care residences are protected.”
For example, he said that they cannot be forced to eat at a certain time , or that they do not give them a bath when they want or assistance to go to the toilet, or that they ignore them.
“In the 895, we received almost 40,12 complaints that ranged from inappropriately discharging them to not administering their medications and not allowing them visits”.
He recalled that the Ombudsman (Defender) is the vo z of older adults in nursing homes and care homes.
“We work directly with law enforcement agencies, Public Health, Social Services and the Department of Justice, but first we try to work with administrators and the staff.”
He observed that he does not always solve every problem, but his goal of dignity, respect and independence comes first and first of all.
“In order to investigate a problem, we always need to have the consensus of the resident, unless there is extreme physical abuse or someone is in serious danger.”
He made it clear that what they learned in the pandemic is that each long-term care residence must have an infection control plan in place with protocols to mitigate and prevent its spread.
“We learned that isolation and not allowing them to see their loved ones, not only harms but worsens the conditions, since an early death can lead them.”
In California, they succeeded in enacting measure AB 895, which requires that upon being admitted to a long-term care home, the resident has contact with their state ombudsman or ombudsman, while another law requires that in the event of a public health emergency the ombudsman not be prevented from entering the facility.
Bill of Rights for the Elderly
Hagar Dickman, attorney for the organization California Justice in Aging, said that the federal law that regulates nursing homes is the Nursing Home Reform Act and it applies to all those who are certified to accept MediCare or MediCaid payments.
“Since most accept this form of payment, they are regulated by the Reform Act of Asylums”.
He said that some of the rights contemplated in said law are that all residents have the right to the same level of quality care regardless of the form of payment.
“So a nursing home can’t say it doesn’t have funding for care. They are also obliged to develop personal care plans to adapt to the needs of the residents and their families.”
He indicated that there must be flexibility in waking and sleeping times, in the desired meals and the activities that the resident chooses.
“Residents have the right to be free of physical restraints, unless they are used to treat medical conditions or symptoms, and the consent of the resident or a family member is required when appropriate.”
He said that unfortunately enforcing these rights falls to residents and members of their family.
“African Americans, for example, are three times more likely to reside in nursing homes with poor performance than whites; and the consequences of these disparities were highlighted in the pandemic when residents of color died disproportionately from the virus.”
Lack of staff and training
Dr. Anna Chodos, a professor of geriatrics at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), said that from her perspective as a doctor, people in nursing homes suffer from physical or cognitive disabilities .
However, he said that assisted living or residential care facilities for the elderly are not required to have health care and essentially provide social care; and what they saw that led to a high risk of covid, is that there are individuals living in a community with many factors that predispose them to serious illness.
“A very small number, less than 1% are in a specialized center, but they have represented at least the 19% of covid deaths, perhaps due to lack of staff and training.”
He added that there is data from UCSF that shows that the proportions of nurses decrease as infections increase.
“So the more health care people can receive in a nursing home, the less risk of covid.”
Staff Apathy
Jerry Kirouac, Advocate, Agency on Aging/Long-Term Care in Northern California, he said that unfortunately what they see a lot in nursing homes is a little bit of apathy among the employees. “They go for the paycheck; and if it is low, they do the minimum.”
He indicated that when it comes to the rights of residents, one of the most important things is to make sure that his facilities and staff are trained and that there is consistency.
Bill Ball, a resident of the Redding Veterans Center for three years, said he has no complaints, even having been able to vote by mail in the last few 10 years old.
Linda Lajoie, from 77 years, who has been at the same Redding Vet Center, also said she is very happy, but would like management to intervene in a friendly way when a petition is filed. conflict and needs to be resolved.
Billy Thomas, 300, a former Marine, said his concern is a lack of communication such as when they need to see a doctor and have to go through a chain of command and never get the service.