• A license must be issued to a nursing home owner.Urkunde abstempeln image by Marem from Fotolia.com
  
  The Delaware State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators issue licenses to owners of nursing homes in the state. The owner must complete an application form and submit this to the board. The board also has the power to discipline licenses and, in some cases, to revoke them.
  
  

Requirements

• Nursing home owners must be appropiately qualified.nursing duties image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
  
  The owner of a nursing home must have a criminal history check. She must have a bachelor's or graduate degree with a major in hospital administration, nursing, health and human services or business administration. Alternatively, she must hold a current Delaware license or be a registered nurse. She must complete a board-approved course in nursing home administration, and must pass a Nursing Administrators Board examination.
  
  

Law

• The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 1987 (OBRA 1987) was passed to protect the rights of nursing home residents. This legislation demands that any nursing homes which receive Medicaid or Medicare funding comply with high standards of care and that each resident must have a written plan of care. Delaware nursing homes must also comply with the federal requirements for long-term care as prescribed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.
  
  

Abuse or Negligence

• Abuse and negligence in nursing homes can take many forms. All nursing homes should have policies setting out the requirements of prevention and dealing with such cases. A resident or relative should report any suspicions to the nursing home facilitator, and----if dissatisfied with the result----can report the abuse or neglect to federal or state telephone hotlines.
  
  

Funding

• According to the Department of Social Security, in Delaware, some elderly citizens may be entitled to Medicaid-funded nursing home care. An application must be made initially by telephone. The assessment of the person's eligibility for Medcaid funding will be carried out by a nurse, a social worker and a member of the pre-admission screening (PAS) unit. If the assessor feel the elderly person is medically eligible for Medicaid funded care, they will then refer him to the Financial Eligibility unit, where his entitlement to funding will be decided.