The following news story highlights one of Tennessee Citizen Action’s most important issues-holding Tennessee’s nursing home industry accountable for the health and well-being of those who are entirely dependent on the services provided to them.

Typically, nursing home neglect is the result of having too few staff caring for too many frail people-a staffing decision made by the nursing home’s corporate owners. All too often, that neglect ultimately results in starvation, dehydration or deadly infections in patients. Sometimes, it results in the kind of outright abuse alleged in this news story. The legal remedy for these situations must have an impact on those who have the power to change what happens in a nursing home so that others won’t suffer in the same way.

Earlier this year, the powerful nursing home lobby attempted to ram through legislation which would, in effect, remove any legal consequences to owners of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities for neglect or abuse. That legislation would have provided only one legal recourse to neglected or abused nursing home residents-filing a medical malpractice action. In reality, however, the medical malpractice statutes would not apply in the situation described below. Had the nursing home industry’s legislation passed, patient protection and real accountability would simply not exist.

Tennessee Citizen Action helped defeat that misleading and dangerous law from passing, but you can be sure that the nursing home lobby has not given up. We intend to continue to be vigilant about protecting the rights of patients and their families.

 

Bill Mason

Executive Director

Tennessee Citizen Action

To read the news story about one resident’s experience: http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=6943543