Nursing Home Receiverships: Design and Implementation

Abstract

The enforcement of legal standards governing nursing home care and safety involves complex determinations due to the precarious conditions of most residents and the vast shortage of nursing home beds. This is particularly true when residents must be transferred. This article advocates the interim measure of statutory nursing home receiverships to protect the health and safety of residents and the nursing home property while determinations regarding sanctions or compliance are being made.

Section II examines the statutory receivership provisions of four states and explains why such an approach is best suited for the effective enforcement of standards while also protecting residents from life-threatening transfers and preventing facilities from closing. In Section III, the article documents the path of the Village Nursing Home in New York City from a substandard facility to a high-quality, community-based nursing home through a statutory receivership model. Finally, Section IV analyzes the Village Nursing Home example, identifying difficulties in the implementation of a statutory receivership and also the factors contributing to its success.

The article concludes by identifying flaws of statutory receiverships. Through court orders, courts play an important role in providing a remedy to such flaws, but community participation and interest in nursing homes is also integrally related to ensuring nursing home care and safety.