The law mandates that nursing homes provide residents with all necessary assistance for bathing, dressing, eating and other personal needs. Unless it is medically unavoidable, the nursing home must ensure that residents’ abilities to carry out activities of daily living do not decline. Activities of daily living include bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, walking, communicating, using the toilet, and transferring to or from a bed or chair.
Some examples of care mandated for nursing home residents includes:
- Provide care to maintain clean, dry skin;
- Change soiled linens, clothing and other items so that residents’ skin is free from urine and feces;
- Provide needed personal care services including bathing, shampooing and grooming of hair, oral hygiene, shaving or beard trimming, and cleaning and cutting of fingernails and toenails;
- Ensure that residents are free of offensive odors;
- Answer call signals promptly;
- Ensure privacy during treatments and personal care.
