Allentown Senior AdvisorWhere do I complain about a Pennsylvania personal care home?
Call the Department of Human Services' personal care home complaint line at 1-877-401-8835 or file the online complaint form; DHS investigates complaints about personal care homes and assisted living residences, often with an unannounced visit.
You can complain anonymously, though giving contact details lets the investigator follow up. Complaints DHS substantiates show up as violations in the home's posted inspection summaries.
How do I report elder abuse in the Lehigh Valley?
Call Pennsylvania's statewide elder abuse line, 1-800-490-8505, at any hour; it routes the report to the protective services unit of the county Area Agency on Aging (Lehigh, Northampton or Carbon), which must investigate.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 first. Pennsylvania's Older Adults Protective Services Act requires employees of care facilities to report suspected abuse, and protects anyone who reports in good faith.
What does a long-term care ombudsman do?
A long-term care ombudsman is a free, independent advocate for residents of nursing homes, personal care homes and assisted living residences who helps resolve problems with care, rights, discharge notices and billing, working for the resident rather than the facility.
Each county's Area Agency on Aging runs or contracts the local program; in Northampton County it is run by Catholic Charities (484-619-3337). The state ombudsman office is at 717-783-8975 and LTC-Ombudsman@pa.gov.
Where do I complain about a nursing home or home care agency?
Nursing homes, home health agencies, home care agencies and hospices are licensed by the Department of Health, whose complaint hotline is 1-800-254-5164; the same department investigates and reports findings to CMS for certified providers.
Medicare beneficiaries can also raise quality-of-care concerns with Medicare's quality improvement organization, through 1-800-MEDICARE.
Can a home retaliate against a resident for complaining?
No: Pennsylvania's personal care home and assisted living rules protect residents' right to complain without retaliation, and a discharge notice that follows a complaint is something the ombudsman and DHS will want to hear about.
Keep notes with dates, names and what was said, and keep copies of every notice. Those records make an ombudsman's or investigator's job much easier. If a family member is the one being pressured, the same protections apply to visitors who raise concerns on a resident's behalf.
At a glance
| These lines handle | These lines do not handle | |
|---|---|---|
| DHS 1-877-401-8835 | Personal care home and ALR complaints | Nursing home complaints |
| DOH 1-800-254-5164 | Nursing homes, home health, home care, hospice | Personal care homes |
| 1-800-490-8505 | Abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment | Billing disputes |
Sources include 55 Pa. Code Chapters 20, 2600 and 2800, Pennsylvania DHS, Department of Health and Department of Aging pages, CMS, VA and CareScout rate tables as cited above; see our editorial standards.
