Unfortunately, the nursing home often gets a fine reduced and often only temporarily corrects the problem. The nursing home, through deduction or leaks usually finds out who made the complaint. You also must be persistent and follow up with more complaints and evidence if the problem is not rectified. Many family members are concerned that if they make a complaint and their relative is still in the nursing home, that the facility may try and retaliate on the relative. Since you cannot be at the nursing home twenty four hours a day, this could be a real concern, especially if your relative is unable to communicate well and tell you about any retaliation.
Some family members wait until they move their relative out of the facility to file a complaint.
Of course, you can always file a complaint if your relative dies, especially if you think that the lack of care or abuse was a factor in the death. You can usually tell when it is near the time for a survey because the facility will clean up and become fully staffed. You may even see a corporate team from the nursing home chain come in and work on the records and the look of the facility. If there are state surveyors in the facility when you visit, go up and ask one of the surveyors if you can speak to them. They will usually reserve a time for you to speak to them.