In and around Chicago, nursing home abuse attorneys can help their clients understand their rights according to both state and federal law. There are many rights afforded to patients regarding the facility they stay in and their accommodations therein.

First, and foremost, you have the right to stay in your facility. You have the right to keep living in your facility, unless your facility forces you to move because you are dangerous to yourself and others, for medical reasons, you have not paid or are late paying your bill, or your facility closes.  You can’t be forced to leave your facility because you are applying for Medicaid or you are on Medicaid and a Medicaid bed is available. (Illinois nursing home negligence lawyers say it is always important to ask the facility how many Medicaid beds it has.)

In Medicare or Medicaid facilities, you have the right to be told in advance if your room or roommate is being changed.

If your facility wants to force you to move, there are strict guidelines to which the must adhere. First, you must be given a written notice 21 days (for State-licensed facilities) or 30 days (Medicaid- or Medicare-certified facilities) before the day it wants you to move. The notice must explain why your facility wants you to move and how you can appeal to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Furthermore, they must provide you the forms you need to appeal, and a stamped, addressed envelope for you to use to mail your appeal to the Department of Public Health.

You have a right to ask the Long Term Care Ombudsman or to consult a Chicago nursing home neglect lawyer for help in appealing your facility’s forcing you to move.  If you appeal to the Department of Public Health, usually your facility cannot make you leave until the appeal is decided.  Before your facility can transfer or discharge you, it must provide preparation and orientation to be sure that your discharge is safe.

Following a hospitalization, you must be allowed to return to your facility, unless your facility gives you written notice as described above.

If you get Medicaid and are hospitalized for ten or fewer days, your facility must let you return when you leave the hospital. If you are hospitalized for more than ten days, your facility must let you return if it has a bed available and you still need that kind of care. If your facility is full, you must be allowed to have the first available semi-private room, if you still need that kind of care.

If you have questions about Illinois nursing home neglect or your rights as a resident, contact an Illinois nursing home negligence lawyer today.

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