Florida's nursing home residents finally will be able to feel more at home. Gov. Jeb Bush has signed into law a bill that allows nursing home residents to arrange their room furniture in whatever way they please. Outdated safety codes had required nursing home beds, like hospital beds, to stick out perpendicularly from the wall with space on both sides.
For years, nursing home residents had ignored the decades-old regulations, while state regulators simply turned a blind eye on the practice. Wall beds opened up more space for residents to make their rooms feel less institutional and a little more like home. But when regulators decided last year to sanction homes that fail to comply with the code, it was enough to drive nursing home residents up the wall.
Seniors drafted petitions and sent letters to their representatives - who actually listened. Starting July 1, wall beds will be legal if residents request them, roommates don't object and they don't interfere with safety or care.
The decision was a clear-cut solution to improve the quality of life for many nursing home residents.
