How to Report a Nursing Home Violation

If you notice trouble at a nursing home or a problem with the care of your loved one, you should determine if it is a violation of state nursing home rules and report the problem. Reporting a nursing home violation is mainly an issue of determine which agency to contact. Read on to learn how to report a nursing home violation.

Instructions

• 1

  Determine what specifically the issue is with the nursing home. Be able to describe the problem in one sentence. The people you report the problem to will be interested in hearing what you have to say but may not have time for a long drawn-out story if the problem isn't truly a violation.

• 2

  Call police immediately, if you believe a crime has been committed at the nursing home. Theft, attempted poisonings and sexual abuses might be violations of state nursing home laws. But they are also crimes. Get a police report to document the incident at the minimum.

• 3

  Find out which agency in your state handles nursing home inspections. Typically this falls under the state department of health. Different states are organized in different ways. Sometimes you are asked to report a nursing home violation to the county health department, and sometimes you are asked to report a nursing home violation to a different department such as the department of aging.

• 4

  Phone your complaint in using the agency's complaint hotline. This information is typically on the agency's website or can be obtained by dialing the main number to the agency. Complaint hotlines of health departments are usually manned by professionals whose jobs it is to help you officially file complaints.

• 5

  Email complaints in by sending an email to the correct department. The email address you should use to report a nursing home violation is listed on the web page of the correct reporting agency.

• 6

  Fill out any forms that nursing home inspectors request. There may be an official document you are asked to fill out and sign in order to make your violation report complete.