State lawmakers are weighing options to prevent elder abuse in Minnesota nursing homes and other facilities as they get ready to start the 2018 legislative session next week. Genevieve Gaboriault with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid told a Senate committee Monday there are “really strong” federal laws on nursing homes, but in the case of assisted living facilities, “a resident… could get a 30-day notice that we’re gonna end your lease — or right now in some facilities a 10-day notice that your services are gonna be terminated — and then they’re just done.”
A special task force recommends tougher penalties for maltreatment, plus more transparency in investigations. Gaboriault says when someone reports maltreatment, they should be able to find out more easily what action is being taken. She says, “We heard consistently that… families would make a report and then never hear anything again about it, so they don’t know if there’s any investigation happening. It just makes them feel like the system is apathetic to their family member’s needs.”
The task force also recommends expanding provisions to prevent retaliation. Gaboriault says, “We want to make sure that residents feel that they can request things that they need, they can stand up for themselves, and not be retaliated against, and their families who speak for them won’t be prohibited from visiting or in other ways retaliated against.”