Nurse Pris

[pjay1958]

Hi, I need someone to help me find out if Private duty nurses have rights or is there any laws I can be referred to!!! There is a place that is trying to get rid of private duty nurses, and force their clients to go to their agency.

If someone could help me I would appreicate it. They are saying that they must have 100,000.00 insurance policy. The people who hire them live in a 55 and over place.

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Are you saying the facility is wanting an insurance policy? It's my opinion that is prudent to have your own liability policy. Most nursing liability policies are $500,000-$2,000,000 per incident. So getting a $100,000 professional liability policy should not be too difficult. Check out Professional Liability Insurance for nurses, nursing medical malpractice. if you don't already have Liability Insurance and you can get a free quote and see the options available.

As far as a patient having the right to choose a private duty nurse vs. one from the facility agency this is often covered by your state's patient bill of rights. Check your state's department of health & human services and/or senior services. Note that some states "senior" rights cover patients 62 or 65 and older. But basic patient/resident rights should cover a resident of any age.

The right would be the patient's more than the private duty nurse. It is possible that there are other laws regulating whether a facility can 'force' residents to use only their agency vs. outside private duty nurses. You can always check with your state dept of consumer affairs.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

A policy covering $100,000 per incident is bare minimum coverage.

And ... under no circumstances would I ever be working private duty without insurance coverage anyway.

"They" -- who? If the residential building has recently been acquired by an assisted-living corporation, it may well be part of their agreement that they are the providers of private duty nursing and other services in the building as well.

You'll need to find out more specifically exactly what you're dealing with: has the building recently changed ownership? Is this a new requirement of Medicare? Are you self-employed? If not, what coverage does your agency provide?

I did a quick online quote for a self-employed RN with at least 1 year of experience in my state: less than $300/yr. for $500,000 per incident/$2,500,000 lifetime maximum coverage. As I said, I would never consider working private duty without such coverage anyway.

[systoly]

Hi, and welcome to the board. I look forward to seeing your pro. Unfortunately, your post is a little vague. Perhaps you could elaborate.