Bill to give more rights to skilled nursing facility residents approved

SACRAMENTO – Residents of nursing facilities will now have more protection following a new bill signed by Governor Brown.

AB 275 was penned by North Coast Assembly Member Jim Wood and aims to protect residents from sudden skilled nursing facility closures.

The idea for this action was spurred when last year, Rockport Healthcare Services, owner of the only skilled nursing facilities in Eureka, decided they were going to close three of their five facilities.

Over 100 residents were going to be effected by the closures and it caused some community members to panic about where they would go under such short notice.
This bill will make it so skilled nursing facilities have to give a 60 day notice of closures instead of 30.

It will also make skilled nursing facilities more responsible for comprehensive medical assessments of each resident, in order to prevent trauma that could occur during a transfer to another facility.