Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

A recent study released in the American Journal of Public Health found that investor-owned nursing homes provide worse care and have higher instances of nursing home abuse and neglect compared to other home owners. Investor-owned facilities averaged 5.89 deficiencies per home, 46.5% higher than nonprofit facilities and 43.0% higher than public facilities. Additionally, nurse staffing was lower at investor-owned nursing homes. This study highlights the growing problem with the trend to invest in nursing homes simply to make a profit or to occupy land for future use. More and more nursing homes are run simply with the objective of making a profit and not delivering high quality resident care. Losing focus on resident care only causes greater occurrences of nursing home abuse and neglect.

See the report here.

Nursing home staff members are the front lines of long term care in the national nursing home system. However, nursing home staff members are often underpaid for their jobs and some nursing home staff members are not sufficiently trained to be safe and effective caregivers. A recent article shows a flip side to the nursing home industry’s low wages: underpaid nursing home staff often cause nursing home abuse and neglect. However, some nursing staff are abused and neglected in nursing homes. A recent survey exposed that nearly half of all nursing staff had experienced bullying on the job and 2/3 had been intimidated on the job. This other side raises serious concerns for nursing home resident care and should expose the dangers that nursing home owners and management create when they do not pay their staff members adequately.

Read the article here.

Levin & Perconti has filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit and wrongful death lawsuit against Care Center and Helia Healthcare for the death of a nursing home resident due to osteomyelitis. The resident developed osteomyelitis, which is a bacterial infection of the bones, while in the nursing home’s care because her pressure ulcers and nutrition were not properly supervised. Malnutrition and pressure sores are a dangerous combination: malnutrition impedes a person’s ability to heal when afflicted with a pressure ulcer. Worsening pressure ulcers can spread bacterial infections to the body like osteomyelitis in this case. In this case, the pressure ulcers eventually required surgical intervention. The decedent is survived by four daughters and three sons.

Levin & Perconti has filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit and wrongful death lawsuit against South Shore Nursing Home for the death of a nursing home resident due to sepsis. The resident developed a sacral ulcer while in the nursing home’s care that was not properly treated and became septic. In addition to the nursing home failing to treat the septic sacral ulcer properly, the resident suffered from weight loss and malnutrition while at the nursing home. Malnutrition, dehydration and weight loss can seriously impede a person’s ability to heal when afflicted with a pressure ulcer and infection. Malnutrition also promotes the development of new sores. The nursing home also did not properly inform the family members of their mother’s care and status of her pressure sore and infection. The decedent is survived by 3 sons and 2 daughters who were all continually involved with their mother’s care.

The AFSCME, a union that represents state, county, and municipal employees is taking on Springfield to seek a raise for Illinois disabled care workers. Currently, staff wages for Illinois disabled care facilities lag almost 2 dollars behind private employers, making it very difficult for state agencies to retain talented staff to care for the disabled. The pay increase would bring care workers’ hourly wages into line with the cost of living and would approach what private employers pay. In long term care for the disabled, proper wages and salaries are essential to ensure quality care. Often, underpaid and under-trained staff have a high turnover rate which causes resident care to suffer, leading to long term care facility resident abuse and neglect.

Read more on the story here.

The National Center on Elder Abuse has put together a very useful set of charts and information about various state laws governing adult protective services. This resource is especially useful for attorneys who practice in nursing home abuse and neglect or handle other legal matters for nursing home residents who may need to consider state resources for clients who may lack capacity. This information is also helpful for families who may not have sufficient resources to take care of all of their elder's needs and need to seek assistance from the state. Additionally, some nursing home residents without active family members may come under state care if they are no longer able to participate in their care or are suffering from a condition that impairs their abilities sufficiently.

See the charts here.

An elderly couple has died in a nursing home, apparently the result of a nursing home murder-suicide. The husband of the nursing home resident, who often spent time with his wife in the nursing home, apparently shot her in the head before killing himself. News reports indicate that there was a suicide note that both had signed. This incident raises serious questions about the ability of nursing home staff to diagnose mental disorders and depression in nursing home residents. Often, nursing home psychological and psychiatric staff are in short supply and many nurses and nursing aides may not be trained to detect signs of mental illness. It is important that family members stay active and involved with their loved ones’ mental health.

Read more here.

The Weill Cornell Medical School, part of Cornell University, has received a grant to study the feasibility of opening a center on elder abuse. The center, if established, will study ways to educate doctors on identifying and responding to signs of nursing home abuse and neglect. According to a professor, elder abuse and neglect and nursing home abuse and neglect can result in overwhelming feelings of fear, anger, isolation, depression and can even shorten life. Older Americans will soon increase exponentially, making programs that highlight nursing home abuse and neglect even more important for proper health care.

Read the press release here.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has joined the fight against fraud in home health care by exposing a large Medicare fraud led by a major home health care corporation. The corporation provides in-home nursing services. In-home nursing service abuse is a growing problem and is often harder to identify than nursing home abuse and neglect. In this case, the home health care corporation coordinated with corrupt health care aide training programs to certify prospective health care aides without ensuring that the prospective aides took required training courses. This incident raises questions about the quality and safety of in home nursing care and should give family members and home care customers pause for thought.

Read the full story here.

A nursing home in Canton, Ohio has lost its federal funding for having too many violations. According to inspectors, each time they went to the facility there was another problem. Unlike large corporate facilities, many smaller homes survive on Medicare and Medicaid to supplement what individual residents can pay to live in the home. This facility had a troubling list of violations including a patient not getting blood thinning medication until five days after the doctor prescribed it, a resident reported an instance of patient on patient rape and the doctor was not notified until 11 hours afterwards, a patient had severely matted and soiled hair resulting from his hair only being washed two or three times in six months at the facility, and old, used syringes lying around in patient rooms.

Read the full news report here.

A nursing home employee has been arrested and charged with theft of medications from nursing home residents. The employee apparently switched prescription pain relievers with over the counter pain relievers and then gave the wrong medication to the nursing home residents. This case shows another example of how medication mixing, giving the wrong medication, and prescription drug theft are more and more common in nursing homes. Family and patient advocates should be sure to check with their loved ones in nursing homes to make sure the resident feels like their medication is working and should also watch how medication is administered.

See the news story here.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its action plan for nursing home improvement. CMS is responsible for establishing standards for national nursing home care by developing the standards, inspecting homes, and collaborating with other organizations to help ensure standards are met. The CMS action plan lays out the 2008 goals and milestones for improving nursing home standards including plans on improving treatment and management of bedsores and pressure ulcers, ways to improve feeding by using dedicated feeding aides, and other means of improving nursing home care.

Read the full action plan here.