Friday, January 17, 2014

Assisted Living Homes and State Laws


At a later stage in life seniors are unable to carry out the functions that they have taken for granted for decades. They require assistance for the completion of daily activities. Diseased, paralyzed, and elderly come under this category. Assisted living homes help in achieving basic activities of daily living. These communities have obviously fall under various state and federal laws which govern the assisted living industry.

The residents of assisted living homes are protected under many state laws, which safeguard their rights regarding various aspects like security, abuse, discrimination etc. The laws and regulations are different for different states. It is important that every resident is aware of the laws and utilizes the facilities accordingly. There are also certain state laws that restrict the admission of a person into an assisted living home. These laws are made taking into consideration the health status and the ability of person and at the same time maintaining the safety of other residents.

In place of nursing home or assisted living, elderly seniors are usually prone to abuse either by the staff, fellow residents or visitors. It may be sexual, physical or mental. Not maintaining proper cleanliness, providing overdose of the medicine in order to free from the patient, not providing food and other amenities etc, are the kind of abuses that generally occur in such environments. The family members need to be vigilant with the conditions of their loved ones. If any suspicion, contact the government officials and maintain a record of the people you approached. Take the assistance of an attorney in order to evaluate the legal remedies available for you.

People seeking an assisted living home for themselves or for the loved ones, need to check with some predefined states to be eligible for the admission. The centers look for certain criteria before a person is admitted in the assisted living home. Factors like the persons suffering from infectious diseases, the quality of medical facilities required and the kind of services that a resident would be requiring etc, are necessary for the joining resident to observe.

The state laws define regulations on trainings of the care takers and the eligible qualifications of staff. The state laws also define the kind of services that are offered by each of the assisted living centers. The Assisted Living Consumer Alliance (ALCA) is a group formed to frame the policies of the assisted living homes.

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