Nursing homes to inspect retaliation policies

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed legislation Tuesday that mandates nursing home staffs receive training on how to identify and respond to patients’ fear of retaliation.

According to a study by the University of Connecticut Health Center, there is a real concern by seniors living in long-term care facilities that staff members may retaliate if a resident voices a concern or files a complaint.

“Considering Connecticut has one of the largest aging populations and highest rates of seniors in nursing homes, protecting the rights of elderly residents in supportive living is a priority for this state,” Malloy said in a press release. “Reprisal against residents for reporting mistreatment can either be obvious or subtle ”“ that”™s why we need to ensure the dedicated and hardworking attendants at nursing homes around the state have the best possible training to identify and respond to all cases of retaliation.”

Connecticut is the first state to mandate retaliation training, to compliment federal standards set by the Nursing Home Reform Law. The training will discuss patients’ rights to file complaints, examples of what constitutes or may be perceived as retaliation, and ways to alleviate patients’ fear of it.