Excerpt from: McKnight's (click for full article)
A U.S. District Court judge has brought a definitive end to a large, long-running class action case involving nursing home residents with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Lead plaintiff Loretta Rolland, now 71, and four other plaintiffs brought the case against the state of Massachusetts in 1998. They contested the state system of placing people with intellectual or developmental disabilities in nursing homes, saying that these residents were not being given “active treatment” in these facilities, and that many were capable of living in other settings. The class of plaintiffs eventually exceeded 1,800 people as the case stretched on for 15 years.
The plaintiffs sought other care options, such as specialized group homes, for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They also wanted nursing homes to provide more active, comprehensive care plans for those who could not move into different settings. Opponents included the families of some of the nursing home residents, who felt their loved one required care in the skilled setting and feared forced removals.
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