Can I ask NH to give my Dad a vitamin supplement.

The nursing home I'm considering sending my Mom to is saying there are some supplements they can't give, even with the doctor's prescription. Is this correct? How do I determine if they are just wanted simplicity or think they can't give it, when perhaps they can? What regulatory body would be the decider on this?

Because of insurance regulations the nursing homer or assisted living won't administer any kind of medication, even over the counter meds, without a Dr's orders. Easy enough to take care of by contacting her physician and have him send the order to the facility.

Call her doctor and tell him to write an order. The staff will probably not give it if it is not written down.

Because vitamin E is not water soluble, excess can't be eliminated in urine, so it can reach toxic levels at the high doses used in the dementia study. The SNF will probably want a doctor's OK.
The studies with vitamin E have only shown promise with patients who are in the mild stages of dementia. There was a good article in the New York Times New Old Age blog summarizing the study results. If you search for "Dementia" "vitamin e" and "Belluck" you should hit it. (Belluck is the author.)

I believe the vitamins will only be given on Doctor's orders. However that may not be a big hurdle to overcome --- if you get to meet with the MD.