Complain about a product or service

Feds Settle With New Jersey Nursing Home

February 24, 2005
The Justice Department says it has reached a settlement agreement with Mercer County, New Jersey resolving the Department's investigation of conditions and services at the Mercer County Geriatric Center, a 240-bed nursing home operated by Mercer County.

Complaints had led to an investigation that uncovered substandard conditions.

"Nursing home residents deserve dignity and respect for their rights," said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "When a county takes responsibility for the care of nursing home residents, it accepts responsibility to ensure that those residents' constitutional rights are protected. We are confident that today's agreement will accomplish swift and meaningful reforms."

The three-year agreement, filed with the U.S. District Court for New Jersey, requires the county to overhaul its resident care and services. In addition, the agreement ensures that each resident is served in the most integrated setting appropriate to his or her needs, as required by the Supreme Court's 1999 decision in Olmstead v. L.C. The Department's focus on this area targets unnecessary institutionalization of individuals with disabilities.

The settlement agreement resulted from a findings letter issued by the Justice Department on October 9, 2002, describing unconstitutional conditions at the nursing home.

The Justice Department found that the Mercer County nursing home exposed residents to unsafe living conditions and undue restraints, failed to provide adequate medical and mental health care, failed to provide residents with adequate nutrition and hydration, and failed to protect residents from unnecessary institutionalization.

The Justice Department says it has made protecting the rights of institutionalized persons a priority. Since 2001, the Civil Rights Division has opened 46 investigations-affecting 53 facilities-concerning the terms and conditions of confinement in nursing homes, mental health facilities, residences for persons with developmental disabilities, juvenile justice facilities, prisons, and jails.

These figures represent a more than 30 percent increase in such investigations when compared to those initiated over the preceding four years.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.

Back to the top |

Terms of Use Your use of this site constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use

Advertisements on this site are placed and controlled by outside advertising networks. ConsumerAffairs.com does not evaluate or endorse the products and services advertised. See the FAQ for more information.

Company Response Welcome If complaints about your company appear on our site, we welcome your response. Please see the Response Form for more information.

For more information, see the FAQ and privacy policy. The information on this Web site is general in nature and is not intended as a substitute for competent legal advice.  ConsumerAffairs.com Inc. makes no representation as to the accuracy of the information herein provided and assumes no liability for any damages or loss arising from the use thereof. 

Copyright © 2003-2009 ConsumerAffairs.com Inc.  All Rights Reserved.    The contents of this site may not be republished, reprinted, rewritten or recirculated without written permission.