Placing a loved one in a nursing home is one of the hardest decisions a family can make — and one of the most important protections you can give them is knowing their legal rights once they’re there. Since 1987, the federal Nursing Home Reform Act has guaranteed a set of important protections for residents of skilled nursing facilities, including those in Pennsylvania.
Freedom from Restraints
The law prohibits the use of physical or chemical restraints imposed for discipline or staff convenience — as opposed to genuine medical necessity. It also prohibits physical or mental abuse, corporal punishment, and involuntary seclusion. Restraints may only be used to protect a resident’s physical safety, and only on a written physician’s order.
Freedom of Choice
Residents have the right to choose their own attending physician, and to be fully informed in advance about their care and treatment — as well as any changes to that care or treatment.
Notice, Privacy, and Confidentiality
- Room change notice — a resident must be notified before any change in their room or roommate
- Confidentiality — the facility must keep personal and clinical records confidential, and provide access to those records within 24 hours of a request by the resident or their legal representative
- Privacy — residents have a right to privacy in their accommodations, medical treatment, written and telephone communications, visits, and family or resident group meetings
Protection of Resident Funds
A facility must hold, safeguard, and account for a resident’s personal funds — but it may not require residents to deposit those funds with the facility in the first place.
The Right to Voice Grievances
Residents have the right to voice grievances about their treatment or care without discrimination or retaliation, and the facility must make prompt efforts to resolve those grievances — including complaints about the behavior of other residents.
What to Do If a Loved One’s Rights Are Violated
If you believe a nursing home has violated a resident’s rights — through improper restraints, neglect, denial of privacy, or retaliation for a complaint — you don’t have to navigate that alone. An elder law attorney can help you understand your options, which may include filing a formal grievance, contacting your local Ombudsman program, or pursuing legal action against the facility.
How Sechler Law Firm Can Help
At Sechler Law Firm, we help Pennsylvania families protect the rights and dignity of loved ones in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities — alongside the broader elder law and Medicaid planning work we do to help families afford quality care in the first place. Contact us today if you have concerns about a loved one’s care.
