Preventing Illinois Nursing Home Abuse: Panel Considers Expanding Background Checks for Workers at Facilities for Developmentally Disabled
Last week, a state panel spoke strongly in favor of expanding the background checks for employees who work at Illinois nursing facilities for the developmentally disabled. Currently, while the 300 facilities that offer this type of care in Illinois are required to conduct background checks for prospective employees, only long-term care facilities for disabled children have to check with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to determine whether a job candidate had ever received citations for child abuse.
However, under new legislation being prepared by the panel, long-term care facilities for developmentally disabled adults would also have to conduct the check for past child abuse citations. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that a number of state officials have already said that not only do they support this added background check, but also that they see benefits to mandating it for all care facilities, including nursing homes for the elderly.
The panel, which is made up of two dozen advocates, state officials, and industry representatives, is looking at a number of reforms, including imposing stiff fines on a nursing home that contributed to causing a patient’s death, limiting admissions at beleaguered care facilities, and classifying certain violations, such as failure to tell the state about serious incidents and not maintaining death reports, as “high risk” citations. Last year, the Chicago Tribune reported that the deaths of least 13 young adults and children at Alden Village North (and its predecessors) had involved circumstances or conditions that constituted violations.
Not only is it important that nursing home workers have the training and experience to properly do their job, but also, they must actually provide patients with needed nursing and medical care. They also must not commit any acts of Chicago nursing home abuse or neglect.
New background check proposed for employees at facilities for disabled, Chicago Tribune, January 4, 2011
Chicago Nursing Home Negligence?: Tribune Reports at Least 13 Deaths in 10 Years at Alden Village North, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog, October 11, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
Chicago nursing home neglect lawyer Steve Malman represents nursing home residents and their families in DuPage County, Cook County, Lake County, and Will County, Illinois.
