Good News for Milwaukee Nursing Home Residents
Tightening laws for home care workers helps increase oversight
On behalf of Milwaukee personal injury attorney Ric Domnitz of Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C. posted in Nursing Home Abuse on Wednesday, December 11, 2013.
Wisconsin readers who have worked with nursing homes to decide on the best way to care for a family member might have decided to use a home care worker for a short time. In some cases, these care workers are found through the nursing homes themselves or through licensed home-care agencies. But, what do you do if you think that your care worker isn’t trained right? According to news from Dec. 8, states are now looking to tighten the rules related to home care aides, making it less likely that they will be under qualified for the job.
There have always been concerns about the loose regulation of home care workers. Some of the things that might be changing soon include establishing mandatory training hours and doing background checks on all the workers. These are two things most people would have thought would have been required to begin with. Additionally, these home care agencies will need to be licensed; now, not all of them are.
According to the associate professor at the Department of Gerontology at University of Nebraska at Omaha, the problem is that some health aides provide medical services and work through home health agencies, like those associated with nursing homes. Others are simply home care aides who can help a person with personal care, toileting, feeding and non-medical services. Health aids are currently regulated under Medicare, and they have to receive 75 hours of training, but this isn’t the case for home care aids. They are regulated by the states.
It’s hoped that with help from regulations across the board, these people will be trained appropriately, and the complaints about the services will drop. However, if you’ve been mistreated or injured by one of your aides, it’s important to speak up. You may want to see what your legal options are as well.
Source:
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, “States looking to tighten rules on home care aides” Olga Hajishengallis, Dec. 08, 2013
If you have a loved one who has been injured due to nursing home neglect or abuse, contact a Milwaukee personal injury attorney with Domnitz & Domnitz, S.C.