Nevada Nursing Home Abuse Laws

Like several other states, Nevada has established laws designed to protect patients who live in nursing homes. In this state, the laws specifically ensure that every elderly individual has a sanitary place to live, a comfortable place to live, and a safe environment. All nursing homes must follow the law, ensuring that every patient has all of their individual and group needs are met. The Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division works to prevent abuse, neglect, and improper care within the state.

The Individual Patient Care Plan

Nevada nursing home laws require that each individual patient receive a plan of care that covers everything including methods to facilitate treatment, timetables, objectives for treatment, and patient goals. This plan of care must be prepared by a team that includes a physician, a registered nurse, and staff at the nursing home itself. This team should also include the patient, their family members, and a legal representative to ensure all of the patient’s individual needs and requests are met.

This plan of care should be comprehensive, covering everything to do with the patient, including mental, emotional, physical, and medical needs.

Training Requirements

The state of Nevada also has a bill that was put into law in 2011 established specific training requirements for nursing home staff. Bill (SB) 129 ensures that all facilities, nursing homes, and specialty care centers ensure that all employees and staff have been through elder abuse training. This includes direct care staff, administrators, and directors as well. Training must be undergone for existing employees as well as new hires.

According to the state of Nevada, elder abuse can be defined as any act by a caregiver on an elderly person that causes harm. There are five different types of elder abuse according to Nevada law:

• Elder Abuse – This is defined as an inflicted injury including the deprivation of basic needs, such as clothing, shelter, and food.
• Neglect – This is defined as the failure to provide basic needs, including food, shelter, hygiene services, and medical care whether intentional or unintentional.
• Self-Neglect – This refers to a situation when an elderly person cannot take care of themselves. The individual could be declared incompetent.
• Exploitation – This is defined as a violation of trust in which the patient is intimidated, deceived, or influenced so that their money or assets fall under the control of someone else.
• Isolation – This is the intentional prevention of allowing elders contact to other people, including visitors, social time with other elders, phone calls, and letters.

All of these are defined as abuse and they would fall under the law of elder abuse in nursing homes.

Required Standard of Care

Finally, the state of Nevada requires that all nursing home patients receive a proper standard of care, including the right nutrition, hygiene, and medication or medical treatments. If these issues are not handled properly, then the nursing home is failing to maintain a minimum standard of care. This can result in a neglect lawsuit or censure by the state regulations and laws surrounding the specific situation.