By Daniel A. Ross
Mobilization for
Justice (MFJ) (formerly MFY Legal Services) offers nursing home residents
advice and representation in a wide range of legal matters. MFJ’s Nursing Home Residents Project
continues the work of Friends and Relatives of the Institutionalized and Aged
(FRIA), which provided information and advice to nursing home residents and
their families for 35 years.
Callers to the
Nursing Home Residents Project’s intake line receive advice about residents’
rights, decision-making, Medicaid and Medicare, and discharge planning. We also represent individuals in
administrative hearings and litigation to preserve their apartments in the
community, obtain home care, and protect residents’ rights.
For example, one of
our clients, Ms. L, is a nursing home resident in Far Rockaway. She wanted to attend her granddaughter’s
graduation ceremony in the Bronx. She
contacted us when the nursing home refused to approve a day pass. MFJ filed a lawsuit that forced the nursing
home to allow her to attend the graduation.
Ms. L explained that a day pass “is important because it helps me relax,
gives me something to look forward to, allows me to visit my family and reconnect
with friends.” We published a report
about this widespread problem called Imprisoned
in Their Homes.
In another case, Medicaid
denied rehabilitation services for Ms. H, a nursing home resident who wanted to
return to her apartment. MFJ successfully
challenged the denial so she could receive additional therapy. She’s looking
forward to returning home.
MFJ also advocates
for residents who need help getting discharged from a nursing home. While Ms. G was in a nursing home, her
landlord had illegally evicted her from her apartment. MFJ forced the landlord to provide her with
another apartment. We also helped her obtain the home care and other services she
needed to succeed in the community.
MFJ tracks trends
in the complaints we receive to support policy advocacy and impact litigation. With pro bono help from Patterson Belknap
Webb & Tyler LLP, we represent plaintiffs in a class action case against
the Department of Health. The lawsuit
alleges that many nursing home residents have waited years for services from
the Nursing Home Transition and Diversion Waiver Program. The plaintiffs are among thousands of New
Yorkers who remain trapped in nursing homes, when they could be receiving the
care they need in their own homes.
MFJ hosts the
Alliance of New York Family Councils (ANYFC).
ANYFC is a group of leaders of nursing home family councils who share
information and advocacy strategies to ensure their loved ones receive quality care. We also present trainings for the Long-Term
Care Ombudsman Program and provide technical assistance to lawyers and other
advocates.
In 2012, MFJ revised
FRIA’s guide for residents and families, Nursing
Homes and Alternatives. Called “the
bible of long-term care for the elderly and their caregivers,” this book has
been used by many families to ensure that their relatives receive the care they
deserve in nursing homes. MFJ also
developed short fact sheets on common problems faced by nursing home
residents and their families, including residents’ rights, visitor policies,
involuntary discharge, and medical decision-making.
For assistance with
a legal problem affecting a nursing home resident, call MFJ’s Nursing Home
Residents Project on Tuesdays between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at 855-444-6477.
