Your Rights as a Nursing Facility Resident

Libby Hastings • October 8, 2024

When you or a loved one enters a nursing facility, it's important to know that residents have specific rights and protections guaranteed by both Federal and state law. These rights are designed to ensure residents receive the care, respect, and services they deserve while maintaining their dignity and autonomy. As advocates for quality long-term care in Kansas, we want to make sure you're informed about these essential protections.


What Are Your Rights as a Nursing Home Resident?


Under Federal law, every nursing home resident has the right to:


  • Be Treated with Respect: Residents have the right to be treated with dignity and to make decisions about their daily routine, such as when they wake up, go to bed, and eat their meals.
  • Participate in Activities: Nursing homes must offer activities that meet the needs and interests of each resident, allowing them to remain engaged and fulfilled.
  • Be Free from Abuse and Neglect: No resident should ever experience verbal, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. If abuse or neglect is suspected, the nursing home must report it, and residents have the right to alert authorities themselves.
  • Make Medical Decisions: Residents have the right to be fully informed about their health conditions, treatments, and medications in a way they understand. They can also choose their doctor and participate in developing their care plan.
  • Manage Their Money: Residents can manage their own finances or choose someone they trust to handle their money. The nursing home must protect residents' funds from loss or theft.
  • Maintain Privacy: Every resident has the right to private communication, whether through visits, phone calls, or mail. The facility must also protect residents' personal belongings and provide living arrangements that respect their preferences.


These are just a few of the many rights outlined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The full list of protections ensures that every nursing home resident is safeguarded, from protection against unfair transfers to the ability to lodge complaints without fear of retaliation.


What To Do if Rights Are Violated


If you suspect that your rights or the rights of a loved one in a nursing facility are being violated, it’s crucial to take action. Bring your concerns to the attention of the nursing home staff such as administrators and nurses, contact your long-term care ombudsman, and document the incident (take detailed notes of what you observed). If you suspect immediate harm, contact law enforcement! We at Kansas Advocates for Better Care are here to help. Whether it’s a matter of neglect, abuse, or other infringements of your rights, you don’t have to face it alone.


Contact us today if you or a loved one need assistance. We are committed to advocating for the care, dignity, and well-being of all nursing home residents at no cost to you. Let us stand by your side and help you navigate the process to ensure that the rights of nursing facility residents are upheld.

Understanding the Special Focus Facility Program

By Libby Hastings • April 21, 2025
Understanding the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program: What Families Need to Know When Choosing a Nursing Home in Kansas When searching for a nursing home for a loved one, families often look for a place that will offer safe, reliable, and compassionate care. One important—but often overlooked—resource that can help inform that decision is the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program , managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). What Is the Special Focus Facility (SFF) Program? The SFF Program was created by CMS to address the most persistent quality problems in nursing homes across the country. Every nursing home that accepts Medicare or Medicaid is regularly inspected to ensure it meets health and safety standards. Most nursing homes will have a few issues identified during these inspections—typically six to seven deficiencies on average—but some facilities consistently fall far below acceptable standards. These nursing homes: Have twice as many deficiencies as the average facility, Have more serious issues , including those that cause actual harm to residents, And show a long-term pattern of poor performance over a span of about three years. Facilities like these may fix issues temporarily, but often fail to address the root causes—resulting in a harmful cycle of repeated violations. That’s where the SFF program comes in. How the SFF Program Works CMS uses inspection data to score nursing homes based on both the number and severity of their deficiencies. Facilities with the highest scores (i.e., the most and most serious problems) are added to a list of SFF candidates . Each state is allowed only a limited number of active SFFs at a time—currently, only 88 facilities nationwide can be enrolled in the program. However, CMS maintains a much longer list of SFF candidates that also meet the criteria but haven't yet been selected for the program due to space limits. Once a facility is chosen as an active SFF: It is inspected every six months instead of the usual once a year. It may face progressive enforcement , such as financial penalties or losing eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid. It must show real, lasting improvements to graduate from the program. A facility "graduates" from the SFF program only after it has two consecutive inspections (after being named an SFF) with no more than 12 relatively minor deficiencies and none at a higher severity level. If a facility continues to have serious violations, CMS may consider terminating its participation in Medicare and/or Medicaid. Why This Matters to Kansas Familie s Being informed about a nursing home’s history can help protect your loved ones. Facilities in the SFF program—or on the candidate list—have serious quality concerns. While some may be working hard to improve, others may continue to struggle with systemic issues that put residents at risk. As of March 2025, the following nursing homes in Kansas are included in the Special Focus Facility (SFF) program: Excel Healthcare and Rehab Topeka (recently closed) Access Mental Health (Peabody) The following facilities in Kansas are currently on the SFF candidate list : Clearwater Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Good Samaritan Society- Liberal Kearny County Hospital Long-Term Care Unit Legacy at College Hill (Wichita) Legacy on 10th Avenue (Topeka) Medicalodges Jackson County Medicalodges Post Acute Care Center (Kansas City) Meridian Rehabilitation and Health Care Center (Wichita) Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation (Kansas City) Tanglewood Nursing and Rehabilitation (Topeka) The following facilities graduated from the SFF program: Advena Living of Cherryvale Life Care Center of Osawatomie Anew Healthcare Oxford is a facility that is no longer participating in the Medicare and Medicaid Program. We encourage families to take time to research and ask questions when considering a nursing home. You can access the full national SFF and candidate list on the CMS website here . KABC offers free unbiased Consumer Information Reports on all licensed adult care facilities in Kansas, helping you make an informed choice when deciding between long-term care options. Final Thoughts The Special Focus Facility Program exists to push underperforming nursing homes to do better—but it’s also a signal to the public. When selecting long-term care, knowing whether a facility is on this list can be an important part of making the best choice for your loved one. If you have questions about how to find quality nursing home care in Kansas or want help understanding a facility’s inspection history, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.

Advocacy in Action (April 2025): Legislative Recap

April 2, 2025
As we move further into 2025, we want to share an update on our legislative advocacy efforts this session. KABC remains committed to championing policies that protect and support older adults and individuals in long-term care. Here’s a look at key legislative developments and where things stand: