In North Carolina, the state agency that oversees nursing homes and adult care homes (assisted living facilities) is the North Carolina Division of Health Services Regulation (NCDHSR). NCDHSR nursing home and assisted living complaint information is available on its website here. Complaints can be made by calling the hotline, or by completing this form and faxing or mailing it.
In my experience handling nursing home abuse and neglect cases over many years, North Carolina state nursing home inspectors who come to a nursing home to investigate a complaint made to the state often do not find that the nursing home in question did anything wrong or caused injury or death to a resident. I believe this can be attributed to many things, but in particular, I don’t believe states always have the resources to truly enforce nursing home safety regulations and hold facilities accountable.
It seems inspectors have rarely found understaffing at skilled nursing facilities. This also can be attributed to several things, in my experience. For example, I have gotten statements or taken the testimony of many former CNA‘s who worked at a facility who said that nursing home management always knew when the state was coming in, and therefore always beefed up staffing to make it appear that the facility was fully staffed; only to cut staff back down to the facility’s normal insufficient (and dangerous) level once the state left. This is a recurring theme.
The results of inspections are available in a number of places, including at the state level and on the Medicare nursing home website CMS nursing home compare. This is a very good way to look into the history of a nursing home before agreeing to send a loved one there for admission.
The fact that the state did not find a violation does not mean that there is no basis for a nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit in North Carolina. It’s always best to make the complaint in my opinion. Maybe it will help, and maybe the state will actually cite the facility. And if you think you or someone you love has been hurt or killed by a nursing home or assisted living facility in North Carolina, contact Pleasant Law, PLLC and discuss your case without charge.
