Fighting Chicago, Illinois Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect: Governor Pat Quinn’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force Proposes Changes
On Friday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force proposed significant changes to the way assisted living facilities treat their residents. Included in their recommendations:
• More complete screenings of prospective nursing home residents
• Transfer patients with violent histories and/or civil mental illnesses to facilities other than nursing homes that are better equipped to deal with these residents.
• Provide a care plan for each patient that can increase their chances of recovery and regaining at least some independence
• Reevaluate all seriously mentally ill nursing patients within three months (and again at six months) of admission.
• Better training for screeners so that they know that there are other, more appropriate living options out there for mentally ill patients.
• Better re-admission screening process to determine whether a patient might be a danger to others.
• Require criminal background checks earlier in the discharge process so they are completed by the time a patient is admitted to a nursing home
• Develop a system that will allow access to recent arrests, outstanding warrants, and prior convictions
• Mandate that all nursing homes who admit seriously mentally ill residents obtain certification that they are in compliance with state mental health standards
You can view the full report by clicking on the link below. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, nursing homes will likely dispute at least some of the recommendations. However, there is no doubt that changes must be made to protect residents from becoming the victim of nursing home violence, abuse, and neglect.
If your loved one was a victim of Illinois nursing home neglect or abuse, you should remove him or her from the assisted living facility immediately and contact Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence lawyer Steve Malman to determine whether you have grounds for a case.
Task force: Change nursing home safety standards, Chicago Sun-Times, February 19, 2010
Read the Final Report, February 19, 2010 (PDF)
Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force
Nursing Homes, Chicago Tribune
