A majority of nursing homes in Erie County are not complying with Ruthie’s Law, which was passed in July 2017. Ruthie’s Law was created to ensure that nursing homes notify family members of patients of a hospitalization, serious injury or any reportable event within two hours of an incident occu...

A majority of nursing homes in Erie County are not complying with Ruthie’s Law, which was passed in July 2017.

Ruthie’s Law was created to ensure that nursing homes notify family members of patients of a hospitalization, serious injury or any reportable event within two hours of an incident occurring.

The law was created and named after Ruth Murray, a dementia patient who wandered into another patient’s room and was violently beaten to death in 2016. Her family was not informed of the severity of her injuries.

Only 18 of 35, about 50%, of nursing homes in the county have complied with the law following a twice-annual report from the Erie County Senior Services.

Erie County can fine the non-compliant nursing homes up to $2,000, but the law still is not consistently enforced.

Having so many nursing homes not being completely transparent has people wondering what those homes are hiding and if their loved ones are safe.