Chicago Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog

A federal judge is ordering for-profit assisted living facility operators in Illinois to stop holding meetings and circulating information sheets designed to scare psychiatric patients into staying at nursing homes instead of transferring to supportive community housing. US. District Judge William Hart’s ruling was made public today and stems from a proposed court settlement that offers supportive residential living situations to about 4,500 psychiatric residents who are now residing in assisted living facilities referred to as Institutions for Mental Diseases.

The nursing homes recently started giving out information sheets to IMD residents and their families recommending that they turn down the settlement, which they said intentionally did not provide enough specifics about the plan and was going to take away certain protections from the psychiatric patients that did opt to move into the new housing facilities.

Hart called the information sheets “misleading, while containing certain passages that were incendiary and inaccurate. He also told nursing operators that they could no longer interact with psychiatric residents without the consent of the attorneys who are representing the mentally ill patients and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Our Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse law firm has been monitoring this story, and we recently published a blog post about the issue. We cannot stress enough that assisted living facilities are supposed to serve the best interests of each patient. Failure to provide the proper care that a nursing home resident needs is nursing home neglect.

Because of their mental health issues, some psychiatric residents may very well be better served by moving into supportive community housing, while others may be getting the care that they need at an assisted living facility. Some residents may be too dangerous to house along with the general nursing home population, in which case an assisted living facility may be placing the safety of the other patients at risk by allowing a mentally ill resident to live there.

Judge: Nursing home operators misled psychiatric patients, ChicagoBreakingNews, July 28, 2010

ACLU Says For-Profit Illinois Nursing Homes Trying to Scare Psychiatric Patients so They Won’t Leave, ChicagoNursingHomeAbuseLawyerBlog, July 24, 2010

Settlement reached in Illinois lawsuit over mentally ill, Pantagraph.com, March 15, 2010

Related Web Resources:
ACLU of Illinois

The Proposed Consent Degree (PDF)

Continue reading "Judge Orders For-Profit Illinois Nursing Homes to Stop Scaring Psychiatric Patients Out of Transferring to Community Housing " »

Governor Pat Quinn signed into a law a bill designed to protect seniors from Illinois elder financial abuse. Under the new law, financial institutions must play a stronger part in identifying and reporting this type of fraud.

Per Senate Bill 3267, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Illinois Department on Aging must put together training standards for employees of financial institutions that directly interact with clients. Part of that training will teach them how to recognize signs of financial abuse and the steps they should take to report the exploitations.

Our Chicago elder financial abuse lawyers are here to fight for the compensation owed to our clients for their financial losses caused by elder abuse. It is important that you discuss your case with an experienced law firm that handles elder financial fraud and Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse.

During the fiscal year 2009, Illinois received over 6,200 reports of possible Illinois elder financial abuse cases. Yet financial institutions reported just 3% of these incidents. Nationally, according to a 2009 MetLife study, each year there may be up to 1 million victims of elder financial fraud in this country alone. Many victims are women in their 70’s and 80’s that may be isolated, cognitively impaired, or too trusting. Elder male seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia are also at risk of becoming victims of elder financial fraud.

It is an act of elder abuse to take financial advantage of seniors by stealing money from them, investing their money in stocks and other financial instruments that are too high risk for them, or financially exploiting them in any other way.

Growing number of seniors are victims of financial abuse, Chicago Tribune, July 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department on Aging

Financial Abuse, National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse

The Illinois House and Senate have approved the nursing home reform bill. The legislation is aimed at improving the care and safety levels at assisted living facilities throughout the state. Senate Bill 326 is now headed for Governor Pat Quinn's desk.

Measures in the bill include mandating that nursing homes beef up their staffing levels, satisfy higher standards before taking in residents that are suffering from serious mental illnesses, and keep more dangerous patients in secure areas where they can be supervised more closely and receive more intensive treatment. The bill also paves ground for the transfer of thousands of mentally ill patients out of assisted living facilities into community treatment programs where they can receive more appropriate and effective care. The legislation reflects the 38 recommendations made by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force that was created following a Chicago Tribune investigation into nursing home violence that has been occurring between residents.

Our Chicago, Illinois nursing home law neglect and abuse firm is pleased to hear that lawmakers are taking steps to provide patients with the nursing care and protection that they need. Too many residents have suffered because nursing homes did not give them the proper care or make sure that they were kept away from violent residents and abusive nursing home employees. The fact that sexual assaults, assault and battery, and murders have occurred at numerous assisted living facilities throughout the state is evidence that the current system needed to be changed.

Most people that live in nursing homes do so because they need help, including specialized nursing care and assistance with their daily self-care needs. Assisted living facilities know this, and it is their job to give residents that care while protecting them from harm.

Nursing home reform bill passes Illinois House, Chicago Tribune, May 6, 2010

Legislature Passes Sweeping Nursing Homes Reform Bill, PRNewsire, May 7, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Final Report, Nursing Home Safety Task Force (PDF)

Compromised Care, Chicago Tribune

Continue reading "Illinois House and Senate Pass the Nursing Reform Bill " »

Regulators in Illinois have begun the process of taking away an Aurora nursing home’s license. They’ve already fined Fox River Pavilion $30,000 for multiple violations and authorities have accused the suburban Chicago assisted living facility of not properly supervising its mentally ill, suicidal, and aggressive residents.

On December 17, nursing home patient Randall Moons died after getting involved in a brawl with another patient. The 57-year-old resident, who has schizophrenia and a history of violence, experienced heart failure after he allegedly assaulted his roommate, who said that no one responded for more than 20 minutes to his calls for help. The roommate sustained injuries to his mouth, nose, ears, as well as suffered a broken kneecap.

In an unrelated case, Fox River was cited for letting a mentally retarded patient eat napkins, latex gloves, toilet paper, and other objects. The resident ended up having to undergo surgery so the objects could be removed. The Aurora assisted living facility also reportedly let a suicidal resident have access to a razor blade. She used the blade to cut her arm and had to have 40 stitches.

In December, there were 26 felons living at Fox River Pavilion. Almost all of the nearly 100 patients living at the Kane County nursing home moved out last month. The steps to revoke Fox River Pavilion’s license comes one month after Somerset Place, a Chicago nursing home, was forced to turn in its license. Like Somerset Place, Fox River Pavilion has already lost its Medicaid funding for endangering patients’ lives. The Aurora assisted living facility has asked for a hearing to dispute the government’s findings that resulted in the revocation of this funding.

Inadequate Supervision
Failure to properly supervise nursing home patients can prove fatal if a resident has a history of violence, is mentally challenged, suffers from mental illness, is a wandering risk, or has special nursing needs. Inadequate supervision can be grounds for a Chicago, Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit if injuries or deaths results.

Ill. moves to revoke Aurora nursing home's license, BND, April 26, 2010

Funds cut off to Aurora nursing home, Chicago Tribune, February 9, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Homes in Illinois

Medicaid Nursing Home 2010 Eligibility Rules and Asset Protection, Medicaid Asset Protection Plan

Continue reading "Illinois takes Action To Revoke Suburban Chicago Nursing Home’s License " »

In an effort to improve the quality of nursing care provided at assisted living facilities while decreasing the number of incidents of Illinois nursing home abuse, neglect, and patient violence, Governor Pat Quinn is proposing reforms that would increase the minimum staffing levels at nursing homes throughout the state.

Under current Illinois rules, assisted living facilities are required to give each resident at least 2 ½ hours of nursing care a day. This can be provided if there are about 31 licensed nurses and certified nursing aides for every 100 residents. Now, Governor Quinn wants each patient to receive more personalized nursing care.

Under his proposal, by 2014 each assisted living facility patient that needs skilled attention would get 4.1 hours of nursing care a day, while residents that require intermediate care would receive 2.8 hours of nursing care daily.

Considering that a number of national studies have found that improved care has been linked to giving patients more hours of nursing care, the Governor’s proposal is an interesting one. However, although many Illinois nursing homes are already meeting this higher standard, there are facilities, such as those that rely on Medicaid to survive, that do not have the money to hire more people.

According to the Chicago Reporter, Illinois for-profit nursing homes have the lowest average staffing levels compared to their counterparts in other US states. On the other hand, Illinois nonprofit nursing homes exceed the national average when it comes to the number of hours of nursing care that each patient receives.

Governor Quinn also wants to strengthen oversight while raising the fines and fees that would be imposed on Illinois assisted living facilities for nursing home violations.

Illinois Nursing Home Neglect and Abuse
While new regulations geared at providing better patient care is a positive step forward in the fight to prevent nursing home negligence, assisted living facilities are still responsible for making sure that patients are not harmed or neglected by nursing home workers. If you believe that nursing home negligence allowed your loved ones injuries, deteriorating condition, or death to occur, please contact our Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse law firm today.

Ill. nursing home reformers push for more staffing, PJStar.com, April 20, 2010

Governor: Nursing home staff levels too low, Northwest Herald, April 20, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force, Illinois.gov

Illinois Department of Public Health

An Illinois Appellate Court has gotten rid of a cap that limits how large of a fine the state’s Department of Public Health can impose on an assisted living facility that underperforms. The court’s decision overturns a Circuit Court ruling last year that imposed a $10,000 cap on nursing home fines. Before that fines high as $300,000 had been issued for inadequate nursing care. For now, however, the IDPH says it will keep imposing fines under $10,000 to avoid any legal problems.

Meantime, nursing home industry representatives have said that better nursing care won’t necessarily come about just because the IDPH is issuing higher fines. There are nursing home advocates that would like Illinois to impose a fine minimum between $25,000 to $50,000.

Our Chicago nursing home neglect lawyers want to remind you that regardless of whether or not the state fines an assisted living facility for negligent nursing care, you and your family may still be able to pursue a civil case to obtain damages for Chicago nursing home abuse or neglect or patient violence.

Bedsores, unexplained falls, malnutrition, dehydration, sepsis, elder financial abuse, poor patient hygiene, inappropriate restraint, sexual abuse or assault, choking injuries, clogged breathing tubes, emotional abuse, inadequate nursing care, medical malpractice, and medication mistakes are some of the many reasons why a nursing home resident may choose to pursue a Cook County nursing home negligence lawsuit against a Chicago assisted living facility.

Appellate court lifts ban on nursing home fines in Illinois, McKnight's Long Term Care News, April 5, 2010

Appellate court overturns cap on nursing home fines, The State Journal-Register, April 1, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Department of Public Health

Nursing Homes, City of Chicago

Continue reading "Cap on Fines Against Illinois Nursing Homes Lifted by Appellate Court" »

Good news for Chicago, Illinois nursing home patients. The new health care reform bill, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama, includes provisions designed to improve nursing home patient safety and prevent abuse and neglect. The legislation includes the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act, the Elder Justice Act, and the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act.

Under the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act, a national program of criminal background checks will hopefully keep abusive nursing home workers away from residents. Meantime, the Elder Justice Act requires that all nursing home abuse and neglect is reported. It will also improve public agencies’ ability to properly investigate allegations of neglect and abuse while requiring that long-term care ombudsmen are better trained. $32.5 million will go toward grants supporting ombudsmen programs.

The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act will give consumers easy access to information about assisted living facility staffing turnover, inspection reports, and sanctions while requiring that nursing home operators, owners, and financiers provide greater disclosure. Also, $400 million will go toward adult protection services funding.

That the federal government and Illinois officials, including Governor Pat Quinn’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force, are committed to protecting patients from abuse and neglect are two developments that our Chicago, Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse lawyers are pleased to see. Unfortunately, nursing home neglect and abuse and patient violence continue to be huge problems at Illinois assisted living facilities. If you suspect that a nursing home worker or another patient is abusing your loved one, you must remove your relative from the abusive situation immediately, report the incident, and contact our Chicago nursing home negligence law firm to explore your legal options.

Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act

Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act

Elder Justice Act

Related Web Resources:
Health Care Reform Bill Will Also Improve Long-Term Care, NCCNHR, March 24, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Health Reform

Nursing Home Safety Task Force, Illinois.gov

Tighter criminal background checks and stronger sanctions against safety violations are just two of the reforms recommended by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force. The panel was appointed to come up with a plan to combat Illinois nursing home abuse and patient violence. The broad plan provides a 27-point list of “preliminary recommendations” to be refined in the next few weeks before the governor is presented with a final report.

Other recommendations included:

• Searching nursing homes for patients with outstanding criminal warrants
• Increased minimum staffing requirements so that they match standards noted in federal government studies
• Expand treatment and housing options
• Transfer mentally ill residents to more appropriate treatment facilities
• Hiring more nursing home inspectors
• Retraining current nursing home inspectors about safety and care issues involving mentally ill residents
• More rigorous patient screenings to determine whether a patient is dangerous/has violent tendencies
• Imposing tougher sanctions on nursing homes that don’t complete all screening procedures

Governor Quinn set up the task force after the Chicago Tribune began providing in-depth reports on the deficiencies in nursing care provided at Illinois nursing homes. Not only do many nursing home patients have to cope with inadequate nursing care, nursing home abuse, and nursing home neglect, but patient violence has also been a growing concern—especially because so many mentally ill patients, including those who have criminal histories of violent and sexual crimes, are housed with older and frailer residents. There are more mentally ill adults younger than age 65 living in nursing homes in Illinois than in any other US state.

Chicago Nursing Home Negligence
You may have grounds to sue an assisted living facility for Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence if your loved one was hurt or died because he/she was attacked by another patient, abused by a nursing home worker, or neglected.

Nursing home safety: Illinois task force proposes sweeping reforms to end violence at troubled sites, Chicago Tribune, January 15, 2010

New recommendations for nursing homes causing controversy, Sun-Times, January 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force

Illinois Department of Public Health

Illinois Department of Aging

A nursing home resident advocates group, Illinois Citizens for Better Care, wants the state to impose tougher laws and rules regarding the use of anti-psychotic drugs on elderly residents as chemical restraints. According to the Chicago Tribune, there are many nursing home patients who are being harmed because of they were administered these powerful drugs.

While the Food and Drug Administration has approved anti-psychotic meds to treat schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, doctors can prescribe these drugs for “off-label” use. This can prove fatal, as evidenced by the deaths of three nursing home patients who were chemically restrained. The nursing home director at the assisted living facility is accused of over-drugging residents that annoyed her. Some of the patients were forced down so they could be chemically sedated. Elder abuse charges have been filed.

It is wrong to restrain a nursing home resident as a form of punishment or as a cost cutting measure. There are strict guidelines that a nursing home must abide by to determine when any kind of restraint is appropriate.

According to a recent study, about 144,000 dementia patients are given anti-psychotic drugs without just cause in the United Kingdom. Over-drugging kills about 1,800 elderly patients and nearly as many stroke victims. In the United States, the FDA attributes approximately 15,000 nursing home fatalities to unnecessary antipsychotics.

Our Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence lawyers do not tolerate abuse of any kind. We are known throughout DuPage County, Cook County, Will County, and Lake County for helping nursing home victims and their families obtain financial recovery from negligent nursing homes.

Tighter rules sought for anti-psychotic drug use in nursing homes, Chicago Tribune, December 20, 2009

Chemical restraints killing dementia patients, Guardian.co.UK, November 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Illinois Citizens for Better Care

Governor Pat Quinn's Nursing Home Safety Task Force

Illinois’ Department of Financial & Professional Regulation is in talks with the Nursing Home Safety Task Force about imposing tougher disciplinary sanctions on nursing home administrators in the event that a patient is injured at an assisted living facility or other forms of nursing home negligence occur.

The IDFPR is tasked with licensing nursing home administrators and other professional staffers. It is the job of nursing home administrators to direct, plan, and oversee nursing home operations. However, sanctions can only be imposed upon administrators that were directly involved in an act of wrongdoing.

Despite reports of numerous nursing home violations and patient injuries and deaths, no nursing home administrator licenses have been revoked since 2005. 587 complaints have been made about nursing home administrators since then. Department of Public Health inspectors have made 407 of complaints. Disciplinary action has supposedly been taken against only 20 administrators, but the Chicago Tribune was only able to find records to document disciplinary measures against 12 administrators. Disciplinary measures included reprimands, fines of up to $1,500, and suspensions.

Nursing home negligence is a serious matter and if you believe your loved one is a victim is being ignored, verbally abused, sexually assaulted, not being properly bathed or fed, exposed to violent residents, or is being abused or neglected in any other way, our Chicago nursing home neglect lawyers recommend that you remove your loved one from the Illinois assisted living facility immediately.

The frequency of incidents involving nursing home abuse, nursing neglect, and violent nursing crimes against residents has escalated to the point that state lawmakers are taking more proactive measures to protect nursing home residents from becoming victims of abuse, neglect, and other violent acts. However, lawmakers still have a long way to go.

Illinois weighing tougher sanctions for nursing home administrators, Chicago Tribune, December 13, 2009

Nursing home heads rarely disciplined, Chicago Sun-TImes, December 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Department of Financial & Professional Regulation

Nursing Home Safety Task Force, Illinois.gov

Continue reading "Nursing Home Negligence: Illinois Officials Looking at Tougher Sanctions Against Nursing Home Administrators " »

In Chicago, state senators expressed anger about the number of violent nursing home crimes committed by patients. In an effort to curb Illinois nursing home violence, are demanding a full revamp of the way Illinois inspects and monitors assisted living facilities. They also want a stricter screening system for determining which prospective residents may be too violent to house with other patients.

At Thursday’s hearing, the senators announced plans to present reform legislation. Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn’s new Nursing Home Safety Task Force also provided a broad outline of steps it will likely recommend to end the practice of placing dangerous felons and mentally ill residents with other patients in state nursing homes.

Task Force head Michael Gelder spoke about the need for both service options that are specifically geared specifically toward psychiatric patients and improved assessment methods for placing mentally ill patients in the right environment where they can receive the appropriate care.

A recent series of reports by the Chicago Tribune exposed just how dangerous it can be as a sick or elderly nursing home resident living with a younger, mentally ill patient who might also be dangerous. A number of sick and elderly residents have already been physically assaulted, sexually assaulted, and murdered by mentally ill patients with criminal records and/or violent streaks.

Last week, advocates for mentally ill patients had called on the state to overhaul the way psychiatric patients are dealt with and come up with new housing options for mentally ill patients. Housing catered toward mentally ill patients is not only cheaper than housing them in Illinois nursing homes, but it could also allow these patients to thrive. Studies show that mentally ill patients don’t pose a greater danger than do other people as long as they are given the proper care.

A nursing home patient who was injured by another resident may have grounds for filing a Chicago, Illinois nursing home negligence lawsuit.

Senators outraged over Illinois nursing home safety, Chicago Tribune, November 6, 2009

Nursing home reform: Advocates for mentally ill urge overhaul of nursing home operations, Chicago Tribune, October 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Safety Task Force

Nursing Homes in Illinois

Continue reading "The Fight Against Nursing Home Violence: State Senators Hold Chicago Hearing About Improving Patient Safety " »

The Illinois Senate’s public health and human services committee will hold a hearing on November 5 on ways to improve safety at nursing home homes throughout the state. The hearing is in response to the Chicago Tribune’s reports exposing the dangers elderly nursing home residents face when they are housed with mentally ill felons. The Chicago newspaper reported on incomplete criminal background checks, low staffing levels, and deficiencies in reporting violent crimes.

The heads of the departments of aging, public health, human services, and health care and family services, in addition to industry groups and elder advocates, are expected to speak at the hearing.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn recently formed the Nursing Home Safety Task Force. The task force’s job is to figure out how to better regulate assisted living facilities so that its patients are protected from nursing home resident violence. Also, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is calling for improved criminal background checks of patients and more nursing home inspections.

Our Chicago nursing home abuse law firm welcomes any changes to nursing home regulation that could protect residents from becoming the victims of violent crimes committed by other patients, nursing home workers, visitors, or intruders. It's bad enough that nursing home patients are vulnerable to nursing home abuse and neglect from staffers. Now they have to worry about becoming the victims of nursing home patient violence. This is a problem that must be addressed immediately!

While mentally ill nursing home patients are entitled to the proper care, it is important that the necessary steps are taken to determine whether a prospective resident might be a danger to themselves or others—especially of he or she already has a violent criminal past. Conducting full background checks will allow a nursing home to assess the degree of danger a patient might pose so that steps can be taken to keep them away from other patients or tougher security/supervisory measures can be implemented.

State Senate hearing to examine nursing home safety, Chicago Tribune, October 12, 2009

Task force targets violence in Ill. nursing homes, AP/Google, October 9, 2009

Illinois Nursing Homes Mix Seniors And Mentally Ill Patients, Some Criminals, Medical News, September 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing homes in Illinois

Tribune Watchdog: Compromised Care, Chicago Tribune

Continue reading "Preventing Nursing Home Violence Between Residents: Illinois Senate Committees to Hold Hearing in Chicago on Assisted Living Safety " »

In Illinois, state officials are appealing a decision made by a judge in Sangamon County limiting nursing home fines to $10,000. The ruling has already affected numerous cases. 40 Illinois nursing homes have had their fines reduced since the February 13 ruling, and Illinois officials are looking at over 80 other cases going back to 2006 and considering whether to reduce those fines, which exceeded $10,000.
For example, one Illinois nursing home, Woodstock Residence (now called Crossroads are Center), was fined $300,000 last year. 5 suspicious deaths occurred at the Woodstock nursing home.

The case that limited nursing home fines involved the 2006 death of 95-year-old Katherine Martin at Rosewood Care Center. The Peoria nursing home was fined $25,000 and had appealed the decision. In February 2009, Circuit Judge Leo Zappa found that the Illinois Department of Public Health had violated state law when it started imposing fines over $10,000. Zappa has barred the department from enforcing fines beyond this amount for past cases that are still pending, as well as future cases.

Public Health officials, however, say that state law lets them raise nursing home fines to up to $50,000—especially when poor nursing care leads to a nursing home resident’s death. Officials also started issuing fines of at least $20,000 when poor nursing care allegedly caused serious patient injuries.

Some of the nursing home cases that have resulted in reduced fines of $10,000 since Zappa’s order:

Maryville Manor: The Maryville nursing home was fined $40,000 after residents were discovered with pressure sores and bed sores. The Illinois assisted living facility was also fined for inadequate recreational activities.

Peachtree Estates: The Jonesboro nursing home was fined $20,000 after an inspection found that a 73-year-old patient was not given immediate medical attention after she fell and hit her head. She also fell on two other occasions prior to this alleged Illinios nursing home neglect incident.

Evergreen Nursing and Rehab Center: The Effingham nursing home was fined $25,000 following the 2006 death of an 84-year-old patient who suffocated after getting caught in a defective bedrail.

Dearborn Court: The Kankakee nursing home was fined $30,000 after two employees were accused of assaulting a 64-year-old female patient in 2007. The nursing home workers are accused of Illinois nursing home abuse for allegedly hitting the patient with plastic hangers, using a belt to tie her up, punching her in the stomach and head, and trying to choke her.

State challenges $10,000 fine limit for nursing homes, S-JR.com, July 20, 2009

Judge limits fines against nursing homes, My Suburban Life, May 14, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Illinois Department of Public Health

Continue reading "Illinois Officials Appeal Sangamon County Judge’s Decision Limiting Nursing Home Fines to $10,000" »

The federal government’s Nursing Home Compare rating system has been in effect for more than six months. It gives the families of nursing home patients a way to compare nursing homes according to state health inspection findings, the number of employees working at each assisted living facility, and the number of hours of licensed nursing care that each patient receives on a daily basis.

15,600 million nursing homes have received their star ratings. A 1-star signifies that the nursing home received a much below average rating compared to other assisted living facilities, while a 5-star means that the government thinks that the quality of nursing care and services that the long-term care facility offers is way above average in comparison.

The new ratings system, however, has earned mixed reviews. The nursing home industry says that it doesn’t offer a full picture of the kind of care that each nursing home actually provides. One consumer group wants the site to give more details about quality-of-care and inspection results. Some industry members want the federal government to change the way the ratings system evaluates staffing because the number of workers at a nursing home is not indicative of the actual care a resident may receive. Some people are also concerned that employee information has not been verified.

The CMS now wants to gather feedback about its Nursing Home Compare rating system. It intends to survey users about whether the site meets their needs.

Finding the Right Nursing Home for Your Loved One
Although reviews can be helpful, it is important that you actually visit a nursing home. Not only will you get a firsthand look at the facilities, but you will be able to watch the nursing staff interact with the residents and get a feel for whether or not the assisted living facility is the right place for your loved one.

Choosing the right Illinois nursing home is an important decision. Every day, sick and elderly patients are victims of Chicago nursing home neglect and abuse. You want to make sure that your loved one does not become one of these people.

Nursing-Home Ratings Earn Mixed Reviews, Washington Post, July 14, 2009

Debate Surrounds Federal System That Rates Nursing Homes, Medical News, July 15, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Nursing Homes in Illinois

Continue reading "Nursing Home Compare System Garners Mixed Reviews" »

A number of nursing home experts have expressed dismay that the federal government has chosen to give five-star ratings to two Illinois nursing homes even though both assisted living facilities exhibited fire deficiencies. As Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board member Tom Lia noted, Illinois nursing home must have fire protections—especially as sick or elderly residents may need help escaping from a premise when a fire breaks out.

The Grove at Lincoln Park received five stars under Medicare and Medicaid’s Nursing Home Compare rating system last year. Yet also in 2008, inspectors found seven fire-related violations. One of these violations involved sprinklers that were improperly maintained and not in working order. The Arbour Health Care Center, another Chicago nursing home that received a 5-star rating last year, also had four fire deficiencies.

The federal government’s Nursing Home Compare ratings are supposed to give prospective nursing home residents and their families a system that they can use to evaluate and compare different nursing homes to best determine which facility would be the best fit for an elderly or sick patient. Assisted living facilities that receive five-star ratings are considered above average, while nursing homes that get just one-star are considered way below average in comparison to other facilities in the area.

The Medicare Web site says that the rating system takes into account nursing home staffing, health inspections, quality measures, and fire safety standards when choosing how to rank each nursing home. Medicare’s Ellen Greif, however, says that life safety code, which includes fire code violations, is not part of the ratings calculation. This is unfortunate, considering that many families look to the federal rating system as an accurate source of information about the quality of care and the kind of living situation that a prospective resident will likely encounter at the facility.

Fires can break out at Illinois nursing homes. Just last year, Igor Shteyn, 67, died in a fire at the Hampton Plaza Health Care Centre. His children sued the Niles nursing home for Illinois nursing negligence and wrongful death. They claimed that the nursing home workers were not properly trained in dealing with the fire. Shteyn's roommate, 76-year-old Naum Berdichevsky, also died.

The absence of properly working fire sprinklers in a building can pose a fire hazard that can be grounds for a nursing home negligence claim, a products liability complaint, or a wrongful death lawsuit if a patient or a visitor gets hurt or dies in a fire. Congress even passed the “The Nursing Home Fire Safety Act,” which requires that all nursing home facilities that are part of the Medicare and Medicaid Programs have automatic fire sprinkler systems.

Five-Star Farce?, MyFox Chicago, June 30, 2009

Officials investigate Niles nursing home fire, ABClocalgo.com, May 15, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Nursing Home Compare, Medicare.gov

Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board

Continue reading "Two Chicago Nursing Homes Receive 5-Star Ratings Despite Fire Deficiencies" »

A bill before the Illinois General Assembly would let state regulators return fines paid by nursing homes for abuse or neglect if they use the money to improve patient care. However, Senate Bill 321 is generating outrage from opponents.

According to Wendy Meltzer, the director of the Illinois Citizens for Better Care in Chicago, it takes away the “financial disincentive for bad behavior.” Meltzer is questioning the morality of giving back fine money that an Illinois nursing home had paid for abusing, neglecting, or causing the wrongful death of a patient.

Illinois Senator Dan Kotowski, who sponsored the bill, says this is a way to make sure that the nursing homes fix the problems that caused such incidents to occur in the first place. Following a meeting with the bill’s opponents earlier this month, however, Kotowski said he is open to changing the legislation.

Meltzer says most nursing home fines are too small to really affect an Illinois nursing home’s financial well-being. In 2007, Illinois nursing homes were fined $3.5 million. According to Public Health spokesperson Melaney Arnold, nursing home fines generally range from $10,000 to $300,00 for violations. The llinois Department of Public Health can impose state finds but it can only recommend federal fines.

The bill also calls for taking away funds from a special Illinois fund that pays for Public Health monitors and receivers. Monitors stay at nursing homes where there have been problems to observe patient care, while receivers take temporary charge of Illinois nursing homes that are “in trouble” because of the poor care they’ve provided.

Meltzer argues that nursing homes are there to provide a certain standard of care to patients and that they shouldn’t have to require a refund of their fine to finally begin providing the kind of care that is mandated by Illinois law.

Nursing Home Care
Illinois nursing homes are in business to provide elderly and sick residents with the proper medical care and attention that they need. They should be fined and cited anytime a nursing home patient gets injured, his or her condition deteriorates, or he or she dies because workers were neglectful, abusive, or reckless and the nursing home violated its duty of care to the resident.

Opponents of nursing home bill outraged, Sj-r.com, March 7, 2009

Who Regulates Nursing Homes?, Illinois Department of Public Health

Relate Web Resource:

Illinois Citizens for Better Care

Continue reading "Illinois Bill Would Refund Fines for Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect" »

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 " »