Q: I came to the U.S. at 45 years old, married for 30 years, and with two children. My English wasn't so good, so I got a job as a caregiver at a nursing home. I came from a large family where we took care of each other, so I loved my job because it reminded me of being with family. The seniors were always happy to help me with my English, and I was happy to learn. Things were perfect until the home got a new boss. Not only is she unprofessional, she drinks a full bottle of wine every evening. Things started going downhill and the residents started complaining. Like an avalanche, this new boss is taking down everything that was good and now needs fixing. We have no one to complain to, since it's the boss who has ruined things. Now when she tells us to do something, even if she right, no one listens to her. My English is better, but not enough to complain to someone. What do we do?

A: A person who drinks a bottle of wine daily has a drinking problem, so her unprofessional behavior is understandable. That behavior in itself should be reported to the owner if the nursing home is privately owned, or to the state agency over such facilities.

All nursing homes must meet federal and state laws and regulations, so there is hope for correcting this situation. The major areas to report violations are: abuse and neglect, bed injuries and bedsores, falls, malnutrition and dehydration, and wandering and elopement. State regulations for nursing homes can add more requirements, but cannot remove or conflict with federal laws.

Here are the 18 federal regulations nursing homes must meet: Nursing homes must have sufficient nursing staff; must initially conduct a comprehensive and accurate assessment of each resident's functional capacity; must develop a comprehensive care plan for each resident; must provide (if a resident is unable to carry out activities of daily living) the necessary services to maintain good nutrition, grooming, and personal hygiene; must ensure residents do not develop pressure sores, provide necessary treatment and services to promote healing, prevent infection, and prevent new sores from developing; must promote each resident's quality of life; must ensure that the resident has the right to choose activities, schedules, and health care; must provide pharmaceutical services to meet each resident's needs; must ensure residents are free of any significant medication errors; must maintain acceptable parameters of nutritional status; must maintain dignity and respect of each resident; must ensure residents receive adequate supervision and assistive devices; must provide sufficient fluid intake to meet proper hydration and health; must provide appropriate treatment and services to incontinent residents to restore as much normal bladder functioning as possible; must maintain accurate, complete, and easily accessible clinical records on each resident; and must prevent the deterioration of a resident's ability to bathe, dress, groom, transfer and ambulate, toilet, eat, and communicate. For the sake of the residents, do not take these requirements lightly.

A main concern for most nursing home employees is that

if management discovers the person who complained, that employee will likely be fired or made to feel miserable in the job and want to quit. Even though "whistleblower" laws were passed to protect those who report violations, no law can protect a person from being fired; they simply offer a formal means of filing a retaliation charge against the company after one is fired.

When you hear a complaint being made, speak privately to that person and suggest a call to the national Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 for a local agency that can help, or a 24-hour state sponsored nursing home abuse hotline. If you see a senior experiencing immediate danger, call 911, giving your address, the incident and resident identification, and the nursing home's name. Once an emergency operator has the critical information, you've engaged in the most important aspect of your job — senior safety.

Email your questions to workplace expert Lindsey Novak at LindseyNovak@yahoo.com and follow her on Twitter @TheLindseyNovak and Facebook at Lindsey.Novak.12. To find out more about Lindsey Novak, visit www.creators.com/read/at-work-lindsey-novak.

Photo credit: Ann