Nursing Home Reform Act

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A person’s transition from being simply dependent during the early years of childhood to an independent adulthood is depicted by having control and command of one’s life with a little help from parents and other family members. However, for a small segment of the elderly population, this invaluable freedom is cut short when illness, mental disability, or physical disability strikes. And they become a part of the growing number of Americans who now live in nursing homes, which they considered as the last place that anyone wants to go. It is an uncomfortable reality many of our aging population are faced with everyday. The recent great recession scared most Americans and many find that staying employed is imperative; they learn to grin and bear…show more content…
Consumer groups demanded more intensive oversight and further changes in how residents were cared for. In response to reports of widespread neglect and abuse in nursing homes in the 1980s, Congress enacted legislation in 1987—Nursing Home Reform Law (NHRL) to require nursing homes participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to comply with certain requirements for quality of care (“The Nursing Home Reform Law of 1987”). For those individuals and organizations involved, getting the law passed in 1987 seemed like an almost insurmountable challenge, but its implementation has required even more diligent and sustained efforts. This law is included in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA 1987), also known as the Nursing Home Reform Act. It specifies that a nursing home "must provide services and activities to attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident in accordance with a written plan of care (“The Nursing Home Reform Law of…show more content…
State and national organizations pushing for nursing home reform say life-threatening problems in these facilities usually are linked to inadequate staffing. Nursing home residents can have their needs ignored because staffers are overworked, according to top officials with the National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform in Washington, D.C. Ninety-two percent of the nursing homes in the country are not staffed at a level that allows them to provide adequate care. (Galloro, 2001, p. 24). A few states have recognized the problem of resident neglect and abuse and are looking into passing a law giving families the right to install web or video cameras, also dubbed as “granny cams” in resident rooms. This type of monitoring will enable families to see that their loved ones receive the adequate care that they need and deserve. If I had a family member in a nursing home, I probably would feel a little bit at peace knowing that there is a sense of accountability among those who are taking care of my loved

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