Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

Choosing the right kind of senior housing for your loved one is a big step and one that requires a great deal of thought, due diligence, and in-person investigation. Not only do you want to make sure that the facility provides the services that your family member requires, but it is important to make sure that the premises are safe and that you don’t place your loved one at risk of becoming the victim of nursing home abuse or neglect.

Here is a brief description of different elderly residential alternatives you may want to consider:

Nursing Homes: Provide round-the-clock nursing care for seniors who can’t live independently. Medical services are provided and nursing home workers are trained to help residents with personal care needs and daily tasks.

Assisted Living: Residents who don’t necessarily require 24-hour care may still opt to live in a facility where there are staff members assigned to help them take care of certain daily tasks.

Adult Day Care: Provides a place for adults during the day. While at the facility, seniors can usually avail of nursing assistance, nutritional support, social activities, and rehabilitation services.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities: A group of residences for the elderly that may include nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and independent living residences.

Alzheimer’s Care Facilities: A facility that focuses on Alzheimer’s care and other diseases involving memory impairment.

Regardless of which facility you select, or whether you opt to bring a professional caregiver into your family member’s home, your loved one is entitled to the appropriate professional care and services. Medical errors, nursing home neglect, or nursing abuse can be grounds for an Illinois personal injury lawsuit against all liable parties.

Types of Senior Housing Facilities and Services, SeniorOutlook.com

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Homes in Illinois

Quarterly Reports of Illinois Nursing Home Violations

Continue reading "Knowing the Differences Between Illinois Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, and Other Senior Housing" »

The Associated Press says that out of all the US states, the state of Illinois has the most number of mentally ill patients under age 65 living in its nursing homes. In 2007, there were 12,736 mentally ill young adults and middle aged residents residing in Illinois nursing homes. One reason there are so many mental patients in Illinois long-term care facilities is because the state has closed down seven state-run mental hospitals since 1980. This only left 1,480 public hospital beds, which is why so many of these patients are now living in nursing homes.

However, placing younger, stronger mentally ill patients with elderly ones can sometimes lead to deadly results, especially if a younger patient is suffering from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or depression and the older resident is physically weaker. For example, in one fatal nursing home incident, a 77-year-old Alzheimer’s patient was murdered while in his nursing home bed when his roommate smashed his face with a clock radio. The man who killed him was a mentally ill patient who was 30 years younger than him.

In an Illinois nursing home sexual assault incident, a young adult patient with bipolar disorder was charged with raping a 69-year-old female nursing home resident. An investigation found that the Elgin nursing home knew about his violent history yet failed to properly supervise him.

Unfortunately, this continues to be a risk that older nursing home residents face when placed in homes with younger patients that are suffering from serious mental illnesses. 9% of the 1.4 million nursing home residents living in the US are middle age and younger mentally ill patients. Last year, there were close to 125,000 mentally ill patients younger than age 65 living in US long-term care facilities—that’s 41% more than in 2002. Yet the government is currently not keeping track of how many younger mentally ill patients have harmed elderly nursing home residents.

Illinois nursing homes are supposed to protect all of their residents from becoming the victims of violent crimes. They are also supposed to make sure that each of their residents get the proper, specific care that they need. Failure to do either can be grounds for an Illinois nursing home abuse or neglect lawsuit.

Ill. has most mentally ill in nursing homes, STLToday.com/Associated Press, March 19, 2009

Nursing home patients endangered by mentally ill, Daily Herald, March 19, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Nursing Homes in Illinois

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Homes House More Mentally Ill Patients Under Age 65 than Long-Term Care Facilities in Other US States" »

Now that Medicaid and Medicare contractors and state inspectors have been designated as federal employees, they cannot give evidence when cases arise involving private litigation unless the Department of Health and Human Services has approved their participation. The Bush Administration issued this new ruling last September without consulting or notifying the public.

The rule was supposedly enacted, according to the old administration, so that workers would not be diverted from their certification, survey, and enforcement responsibilities. However, some 15,000 nursing care facilities and 3 million patients could be affected by the restrictions.

Litigants on both sides are now finding it even harder to resolve any nursing home abuse lawsuits. Both plaintiffs and defendants have to jump through even more hoops to obtain depositions, court orders, and inspection reports. This new rule also makes it harder for patients and their families to get information about the care that a resident might be getting at a US nursing home that is the recipient of federal assistance.

National Senior Citizens Law Center Attorney Eric Carlson, one of the rule’s critics, says that this allows nursing homes and inspectors to keep certain bad practices secret, which negatively affects residents and their families. For example, one woman whose parents, Clare and Mavis Knutson, are 2 of the 15 patients that six teenage nursing home assistants are accused of harassing and abusing at an Albert Lea nursing home, is having a tough time getting information about the care her parents received at the nursing home.

The nursing home industry also says it is being affected by this block in information. For example, American Health Care Association legal counsel Priscilla Shoemaker says that the industry is having a hard time finding out what state inspectors are doing to determine which nursing homes should be issued citations or penalties or should be shut down.

Now more than ever, it is important that you work with an experienced Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer who knows how to get the information you need so that you can successfully pursue your nursing home abuse lawsuit.

New Rule Enacted by Bush Administration Impedes Cases Against Nursing Homes, Washington Post, February 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Nursing-home records closed off, The News & Observer, February 27, 2009

Continue reading "Nursing Home Lawsuits Are Harder to Pursue In the Wake of Bush Administration’s New Rule " »

Dementia, which most often occurs when a person is older, involves the loss of one’s mental abilities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Some signs that a person is beginning to suffer from dementia include memory loss, forgetfulness, getting lost while driving, having a difficult time doing complicated tasks, forgetting how to do a task, and becoming confused while talking to someone.

Eventually, a person afflicted with dementia may require the help of family members and friends to perform routine tasks. There also could come a time when a person with dementia will have to be moved to a US nursing home where he or she can get the necessary, specialized medical attention and care required to maintain a certain quality life. For example, a person with dementia may need the help of skilled nurses that know how to treat certain physical ailments or the support of nursing home workers that know what to do to prevent a person with dementia from falling.

Not only is it important for nursing homes that care for dementia patients to provide them with the proper medical care, but they must do what they can to keep them and other patients physically safe. For example, just last month, two nursing home patients with dementia became involved in a deadly altercation when WWE Hall of Famer and AWA legend Verne Gagne threw another patient, Helmut R. Guttman, onto the floor. Guttman died three days later. While Gagne is a suspect in Guttman’s nursing home death, he very likely was not aware of what he was doing and may not even remember what happened.

Nursing homes must also make sure that their workers are trained on how to care for patients with dementia so that they know what to do when a resident becomes anxious, angry, combative, or violent. Providing a specialized care plan for a patient with dementia can also help.

In the event that the nursing home neglect or abuse results in a nursing home patient with dementia getting hurt, injured, or dying, a Chicago nursing home abuse attorney can help you file a nursing home abuse claim or wrongful death lawsuit.

Dementia - and its dangers - overlooked, elder advocates say following Verne Gagne incident, TwinCities, February 21, 2009

AWA legend and WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne a suspect in roommate's death, Prowrestling.net, February 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Dealing with Dementia, NCPAMD.com

Dementia, Medline Plus

In a letter published in the Chicago Tribune, Terrence Sullivan, the Illinois Council of Long Term Care executive director, Pat Comstock, the Health Care Council of Illinois, and Dave Voepel, the Illinois Health Care Association Executive executive director, are warning readers that the financial crisis Illinois nursing homes are facing could place the well being of thousands of elderly nursing home residents at risk. A major reason for this problem, they say, is that nursing homes are being financially stretched as they wait for the state to pay them what they are owed.

Over 2/3rds of nursing home residents rely on Medicaid payments to pay for their care bills. Not only are the majority of nursing home just now getting the Medicaid payments for services they provided residents six months ago, but they may receive just one or two monthly payments in the next six months.

While nursing homes are used to waiting for their Medicaid payments, the current economic crisis is making it hard for them to get the short-term loans they usually rely on while they wait. Nursing homes are having a hard time paying their bills and paying their employees. A number of Illinois nursing home facilities are worried they will have to shut down their facilities, which could displace many elderly and sick residents and deny them the care that they need.

Illinois Nursing Home Facts:
• There are about 1,200 long-term care facilities in the state.
• Some 100,000 people reside in these nursing homes.
• The Illinois Department of Public Health regulates and inspects these facilities annually.
• The Department’s Bureau of Long-term Care is in charge of making sure each Illinois nursing home is in compliance with the state’s Nursing Home Care Act.

Nursing home abuse and nursing neglect continue to be a problem in a number of Illinois nursing homes.

Nursing homes facing economic crisis, Chicago Tribune, January 20, 2009

After he's gone, Chicago Tribune, January 9, 2009

Nursing Homes in Illinois

Related Web Resources:

Illinois Council of Long Term Care

Illinois Health Care Association

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Homes’ Financial Woes May Threaten the Well Being of Thousands of Elderly Residents, Say Nursing Home Officials" »

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has introduced a 5-star rating system assessing almost 16,000 US nursing homes for the quality of care they provide. The rankings are based on a compilation of complaint investigations, inspection records, and quality measures. A lot of the information is from 2008.

Kerry Weems, the Acting Medicare Administrator, says the new rankings should hopefully push nursing homes to improve the quality of care that they provide. This will hopefully reduce the number of nursing home abuse and neglect incidents that occur in US care facilities.

In Illinois, 792 nursing homes were ranked by the CMS. While 82 Illinois nursing homes received 5 stars, 207 Illinois nursing homes received just 1 star. A 1 star is considered “much below average” and a 5 star is for “much above average.”

Nationally:

• 23% of US nursing homes were given 1 star for overall performance.
• Nursing homes connected to hospitals received higher rankings than nursing homes that do not have this association.
• 19% of non-profit nursing homes received 5-star rankings.
• Only 9% of for-profit nursing facilities received 5-stars.

Some Illinois nursing home operators say the CMS’s new rating system is unfair and deeply flawed, especially as Illinois nursing homes are upheld to higher standards than nursing homes in other US states. They are worried that this could cause local nursing homes to look worse than other nursing homes if they fail to uphold Illinois’s more rigorous standards.

Feds rate U.S. nursing homes, USA Today, December 18, 2008

17 area nursing homes get lowest ranking possible, BND.com, December 22, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Nursing Home Compare Site, Medicare

Nursing Homes: 10 Best States for Overall Staffing, US News and World Report, December 19, 2008

Continue reading "Illinois Nursing Homes Rated for Quality by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services" »

Holiday shopping can be a challenging task when it comes to finding the right present for a loved one living in an Illinois nursing home. The Illinois Council on Long Term Care is offering a list of suggestions of gifts you can buy for that special relative or friend.

Suggestions include:

• A 2009 calendar listing upcoming birthdays and anniversaries
• Correspondence materials and stamps
• A lap desk for writing
• A phone book containing the contact information of family and friends
• A cardigan made with large buttons or other clothing that is easy to put on and take off
• A cell phone that has big buttons
• Shoes with rubber soles that are comfortable to wear and provide support
• Enclosed slippers
• CD’s of your loved one’s favorite tunes
• Clocks with large numbers and/or talking capabilities
• A CD player
• A DVD player
• DVD’s of your loved one’s favorite movies or tv shows
• A television
• A subscription to one of your loved one’s favorite magazine
• Books in large print
• A newspaper subscription
• Playing cards
• Chess game
• Bingo
• Board games
• Framed pictures of loved ones
• A thick blanket or shawl
• Perfume or other toiletries

Keep in mind that it is important to remain sensitive to your loved one’s particular needs and preferences when selecting his or her present. Some gifts are not appropriate for someone who is suffering from arthritis or diabetes.

Visiting your loved one at their Illinois nursing home during the holidays is also a great opportunity to make sure that they are receiving the care that they need at that they feel happy and safe. If you suspect that your loved one is the victim of nursing home abuse or nursing neglect, there are steps you can take to protect him or her.

Holiday Gift Ideas for Nursing Home Residentshttp://www.malmanlaw.com/, Nursing Home.org, December 4, 2008

Continue reading "Illinois Council on Long Term Health Offers Suggestions for Holiday Gifts to Give Illinois Nursing Home Residents " »