Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

The Illinois nursing home abuse lawyers at our firm were interested to come across an extended story from The Atlantic that delves into a range of issues affected nursing home care across the country.

The report details how care at most of these facilities remains institution-like. The author compared them to how asylums are run. All those who care about the well-being of our local seniors—including the Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers at our firm—have long voiced concern about the overall lack of commitment to resident well-being. We firmly believe that it remains imperative for owners and operators of local nursing homes to ensure that senior residents are given opportunities to actually flourish as human beings, instead of merely being housed.

This latest article essentially echoes the same sentiments. Encouragingly it seems that many establishments are heeding the call and trying to shift away from institution-like care. The call for a “culture change” has been around for a decade and a half or more. However, observers explain that real efforts to change how care is provided at these facilities only gained any actual momentum in the last few years.

This reformed approach “is based on a belief in person-centered care, in which the values and wishes of nursing home residents and those working directly with them are seriously considered and honored.”

In practical terms, this requires many different changes. They include fostering closer relationship between residents, more empowered staff members, and an overall more welcoming environment. Part of this involves more closely incorporating family members in care plans. More specifically, there is a call for actions like allowing pets to have a home in the facility, creating more opportunities for residents to perform voluntary tasks/jobs in the home, and providing more open meal plans.

All of this can both ensure residents lives are improved as well as help limit instances of nursing home neglect rooted in failure to account for resident’s overall well-being.

However, many challenges remain to full implementation of these efforts at facilities across the country. For one thing, some point to the complex federal regulations of nursing homes as a challenge. Of course, this is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it is vital that facilities not be able to skirt basic care requirements in order to maximize profits for owners at the expense of those living in the home. But on the other hand, paperwork details should not get in the way of ensuring the quality of life for seniors at these facilities is maximized.

The article author argues that “if we are serious about making nursing homes more comfortable and homelike, a review of existing regulations […] that impede culture change must be put in place.”

Our Illinois nursing home lawyers encourage everyone to read the entire article at The Atlantic to get a good idea of the complex issues involved in improving nursing home care overall. The story references the fear of nursing homes lawsuits. However, it is important to note that ensuring victim’s access to the civil justice system is not inherently incompatible with reform measures at these facilities. Enacting real reform at these establishments requires a groundswell of advocacy from residents, their loved ones, and other concerned community members.

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As individuals age they often come to need a range of support to get by each day. Medical assistance is the most common need, as various ailments affecting seniors often necessitate close, even around-the-clock medical aid being available. Similarly, basic household support may be required. This is different than medical care in that is doesn’t require technical healthcare skills. Instead, when mobility and physical strength is lost seniors might need help with personal grooming, household chores, and similar aid.

Our Illinois elder abuse attorneys know that there is still another type of help that seniors often need as they age: financial planning and organization. As we have repeatedly explained, senior financial exploitation is a growing and incredibly robust problem. It is a reminder that part of the aid that seniors receive as they age must include help with money matters.

A Monterey County Weekly story touched on the prevalence of cons of seniors. The article is helpful in that is reminds readers of the fact that the recent economic recession hit many seniors particularly hard. Retirees often saw their savings decimated as the value of stocks and other assets plummeted. This threw many seniors, often unable to work to increase their personal revenue, in very difficult financial circumstances. Many of these seniors have had a hard time meeting basic financial requirements, like mortgage or rent payments. Add to that the rising cost of medication and other healthcare bills and it is not an overstatement to say that some of the most vulnerable seniors have to choose between basic life necessities. Our Chicago elder neglect attorneys appreciate that no one should be forced to struggle in this way in their golden years.

All discussion of senior financial exploitation should be within that context.

For example, in some circumstances seniors may have faced this exploitation by their own banks. The article argues that some lenders tricked confused seniors into taking bad (or even unnecessary) loans. Many seniors were not aware of the fine details of those loans and some particularly unscrupulous lenders took no time to explain those details. One elder abuse lawyer summarized that “those folks who have worked really hard all their lives are looked at as really ripe for the unscrupulous part of the community to get their assets away from them.”

This sort of abuse occurs in countless ways. For example, some seniors are renting. They often end up paying rent to landlords who themselves have already gotten foreclosures for their own failure to make mortgage payments. Seniors then unknowingly enrich landlords who themselves are not even properly owning the home.

What is perverse about senior financial abuse is that the very reason that seniors are targeted is that they’ve generally “played by the rules” to save and invest their resources. Their hard work is the very thing that makes them ripe targets for those seeking to take their money. An important way to prevent all of this is to properly plan for potential incapacitation in old age. If a plan is in place for a senior to receive the support they need when they age then there is a far lower chance that they will be taken advantage of down the road.

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Our Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers work directly with seniors at long-term care homes and skilled nursing facilities. However, it is important to point out that elder abuse occurs in countless other locations, not just institutions or elder care communities. Sometimes the abuse outside of these spaces is very subtle and hard to catch. Usually, there is only actual accountability when the abuse boils over in some egregious circumstances.

For example, the Appeal Democrat reported last week on new elder abuse charges filed against a man for his abuse of an elder woman with which he apparently lived. The story explains how the 56-year old man in this case was arrested after an alleged physical assault on a 78-year old paralyzed woman. The details of the altercation are a bit murky, but alcohol-fueled anger appears to be at root of the problem.

The story does not indicate exactly what the living arrangement was, however the altercation was apparently based on disagreement over rent money. The man allegedly demanded that the senior woman return his portion of the rent money for that particular month. She declined, and this led to a more severe argument. Use of the home’s air conditioning may have played a role in the disagreement.

The man became more and more agitated; he eventually struck the woman several times in the face and forehead. Somehow the police were called to the home in the middle of this altercation or shortly afterwards. It was then that the man was arrested for his actions. Law enforcement officers noted at the time that there was a strong smell of alcohol on the man’s breath.

Each Illinois elder abuse attorney at our firm understands that these sorts of physical outbursts are often only a small part of on-going mistreatment. Without speculating on the details of this particular case, it is clear that many seniors in these sorts of living situations are often victims of repeated mistreatment. For example, seniors in these situations are bullied in various ways by those in a position of power over them. When a senior lives with another—often in situations where the other individual is supposed to provide daily support to the senior—then the possibility of one taking advantage of the vulnerable elder are prime. This exploitation can take many forms, from physically hurting the resident (as in this case) to slowly skirting financial responsibilities (such as refusing to pay full rent).

Each locality has state and federal regulators who are responsible for investigating various allegations of mistreatment against seniors. But, regulatory bodies are woefully understaffed and rarely have the resources to fully ensure the fair treatment of all local seniors, both in nursing homes and those in other living arrangements. That means that the accountability should fall even more heavily on all of us who in any way are in a position to ensure that a local senior—from a family member to a neighbor—are being treated properly. Little is harmed when one investigates further into potential harm. However, much can be lost when those suspicions are ignored.

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Financial exploitation of the elderly is likely the single most common form of elder abuse. Yet, much of this abuse goes unreported because it occurs in big and small ways on a daily basis. Our Illinois nursing home neglect lawyers know that like physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, the misconduct can be perpetrated by caregivers, strangers, friends, and even family members. It remains vital for good-intentioned outside observers to keep track of the seniors in their lives to ensure that none are taken advantage of by those seeking to make money at the expense of the senior’s vulnerability.

We know that most local residents who the victimized by elder financial abuse will not have their wrongdoers held accountability.

Depressingly, it seems that sometimes this sort of abuse is only caught when it involves vast sums of money and high-profile cases. For example, as a new article at Investment News explains, many headlines were made in connection to the potential financial abuse of well-known New York socialite Brooke Astor. Many allegations were tossed about regarding the conduct of her son, Anthony Marshall and various other financial professionals involved in her affairs. Eventually, Mr. Marshall actually faced various criminal charges for this conduct—he was sentenced to a prison term but remains free on appeal. In addition, his mother’s last will was rejected in favor of the terms of an earlier will because the court deemed the final will was signed under suspicious circumstances—it left much more money and control of the family wealth to Anthony Marshall.

Similar to the Brooke Astor case, much attention was also focused on the case of Liliane Bettencourt. Ms. Bettencourt was the heiress to a huge fortune from the family’s L’Oreal business. The total family fortune was estimated at $1.4 billion. However, there was much controversy as Ms. Bettencourt apparently tried to leave her entire fortune to her photographer. The woman’s daughter petitioned the court for guardianship of her mother in later years, claiming that the woman was being exploited or otherwise confused. Ms. Bettencourt was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in her later years.

Of course, seniors with certain cognitive problems are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. The problems can take many forms. In high-profile situations with famous families and vast wealth, the dispute is often connected to wills and other inheritance issues. But that is just the beginning. Many other seniors are similarly exploited through complex scams, dubious loans, and sometimes outright theft.

Each Chicago nursing home abuse attorney at our firm understands the role that money plays as motivation in all forms of senior mistreatment—not just financial exploitation. Even regular nursing home negligence is often rooted in the pursuit for profit maximization on the part of nursing home owners and operators. No matter what the form, seniors deserve to have their own money protected and to be treated with a proper level of care by all those charged with their well-being. Failure in this regard should be brought to the public’s attention with the wrongdoers held responsible. Only then can basic accountability mechanisms work to keep other seniors safe.

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According to the Madison-St. Clair Record a new Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit has been filed in southern Illinois. The suit was filed by a former resident against a nursing and rehabilitation center in the area. The allegations made in the complaint suggest that the man was injured as a result of one of the most common types of negligence—inadequate supervision that lead to a fall.

Specifically the complaint filed earlier this month suggests that the man was sitting in his wheelchair at the facility while being left unattended. Unfortunately, the man fell from his chair, and as a result of the fall he claims to have torn the rotator cuff in his shoulder. Of course many seniors have a wide range of physical vulnerabilities, and so injuries that they sustain often have a domino-like effect on their health. Even when subsequent injuries are prevented, even relatively minor injuries can lead to severe pain, suffering, loss of mobility, and other long-term problems.

The legal documents filed by the resident in this case suggest that the nursing home was negligent in a range of ways. On one hand, the complaint suggests that had the man been properly supervised and protected, the fall from the wheelchair would not have occurred in the first place. In addition, the former resident suggests that the facility did not provide the senior with adequate medical care after the injury, complicating the problem and adding to the pain.

Each Chicago nursing home neglect lawyer at our firm appreciates that the issues raised in this suit are quite common across all Illinois nursing home neglect cases. Poor supervision is unfortunately an all too common form of negligence that leads to untold numbers of accidents and injuries at facilities across the area each day. The supervision problem itself can often be traced back to staffing problems. As we’ve often noted, many facilities simply do not have enough hired front-line care workers providing the actual hands-on support residents need to get by each day.

When a single care worker is pulled between dozens of residents with countless different needs it is far more likely that a resident will go unnoticed who should be watched. This is rarely the fault of the over-worked aide, however it is still a form a facility-wide negligence. The owners and operators of these homes must be held accountable for this sort of conduct that hurts residents.

Of course Illinois nursing home falls, like in this case, are perhaps one of the single most common forms of injury at these facilities. Unfortunately, a fall is often a catalyst that leads to other problems for the senior. For example, some individuals may become bed-ridden after the fall—either permanently or temporarily. As a result, they come to rely on the help of front-line care workers even more. However, with understaffing those care workers often do not attend to their needs as closely as necessary. In those cases, the resident may not be properly re-positioned, could have nutrition issues, and is at risk of dehydration. All of those factors often cause pressure sores to develop.

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Sometimes it may seem like kicking a dead horse when our Chicago nursing home lawyers discuss the effect of low staffing on resident care. However, considering that so many facilities continue to be understaffed—in fact, most are—it remains important to continue the awareness about the consequences of not having enough staff members. All nursing home neglect attorneys can explain how failure to do so literally results in people dying who otherwise might still be alive.

Yet another study has reiterated the vital role played by having reasonable levels of front-line care workers at nursing homes. A story this week from Medicare Advocacy summarizes the findings. We have previously mentioned the underlying results of the study.

The research effort was conducted by experts at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The analysis essentially sought to answer a question that had puzzled researchers in the past. When employment rates for the nation as a whole increase, why do mortality rates among seniors also increase? On its face it doesn’t necessarily make much sense. Clearly higher employment in the country doesn’t directly cause the deaths. However, there must be some other variable involved that correctly explains what is going on.

The researchers believe that they’ve reached an answer. They noted that “an expanding economy generates a greater scarcity of front-line caregivers in nursing homes, which may cause more death among the elderly.”

In other words, the elderly death rate increased may be attributable specifically to those in nursing homes. Because care workers at these facilities often do not receive very high wages or benefits, many of those workers leave those jobs when the economy is doing well and better opportunities are available. This analysis seems to match with demographic data which shows increased deaths among elderly woman when unemployment rates decline. Women make up a far larger percentage of nursing home residents, and so they are more serious affected by these issues.

Amazingly, the researchers were able to reach pretty specific conclusions about how unemployment rates affect front-line care worker stats and then nursing home resident’s health. Specifically they identified that for every 1% decline in unemployment rates there was a .4% increase in the mortality rate for older women.

Past research had identified how the overall employment rates effected employment of front-line care workers. These are the individuals who are actually working with residents day to day, providing them with all of their daily needs and in general keeping them safe. These front-line care workers are usually the ones who know each resident best, understanding their idiosyncrasies, risks, and unique needs. But these vital caregivers are not paid well, and they often leave for better jobs when the economy improves.

Our Chicago nursing home neglect lawyers know that when those workers leave it is the residents who suffer. This is true because the leaving workers are often not replaced or at least not replaced quickly. That means there are fewer eyes, ears, and hands providing a look-out to ensure all of the residents have the basic assistance they need. In addition, even when new employees are hired, there is often a learning curve with further negative implications for residents.

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The Denver Post reported this week on the end of a nursing home lawsuit in Colorado that resulted in a significant verdict for the family of a former nursing home resident. Unfortunately, the facts of that case mirror many that our Chicago nursing home attorneys have seen over the years of negligent care resulting in the deaths of unsuspecting seniors. It is yet another reminder of the continuing need to hold these homes responsible when their mistreatment causes pain, suffering, and injury. These facilities are unlikely to make the necessary changes on their own.

According to the story, the family of an 88-year old man alleged that poor care at the home led to his death. The resident entered the facility in May of 2009. He was suffering from Parkinson’s but still maintained much independence. He worked as a janitor at the home and was capable of walking on his own.

However, the family claims that he soon began suffered from a bedsore. The wound sapped his health, making him bedridden. He then stopped eating and drinking. The family argued that the facility did not provide proper care to prevent or treat the wound, and so it expanded. Other bedsores developed. One was so severe that it was the size of a baseball.

The family did not know of the problem until one aide confided in them that he thought the wounds were very severe. The aide explained that he was worried about getting fired, however, he spoke out because he was afraid that the man was going to die. Obviously, the family took immediate action and demanded that the man be taken directly to the hospital. Yet, the facility apparently protested. They claimed that the man could be cared for at the nursing home. The family eventually forced the man to be taken to the hospital where, on top of the bedsores, doctors found that he was dehydrated and malnourished. The man died shortly after, and the doctor’s linked his passing to the bedsores.

The family filed a nursing home neglect lawsuit and the case went to trial. The trial recently ended with a jury reaching a verdict for the family. They awarded them $3.2 million for the harm.

If you or a loved one may have been hurt in any way by mistreatment at these facilities, please remember that you have options. Our Illinois nursing home neglect attorneys are available to help families who suspect that they did not receive adequate care at a local nursing home.

The law demands that these care facilities meet certain requirements in the way that they provide for the residents who depend on them. Quite often those legal requirements are not met. In fact, some argue that there is an epidemic of poor nursing home care. However, the skirting of the law continues, because most hurt don’t actually come forward and press for their rights. That is why we continue to urge those affected in these ways to ensure accountability. Not only does this provide redress for the losses in your particular circumstances, but is also helps all other residents at the facility. You can be sure that there is rarely just one victim at a negligent home—mistreatment affects many seniors. However, even if just one of those hurt steps up, changes can often be demanded which will affect every senior in the facility.

It is important to remember that there are statute of limitations rules that apply to these cases. That means that there are time limits for filing suits. Do not delay; reach out to a legal professional today.

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Last week the Trib Local Joliet had an article that provides more information about the state’s decision to revoke Hillcrest Nursing and Rehabilitation’s license. Some of our Joliet nursing home neglect lawyers have worked on cases involving residents at Hillcrest where inadequate care led to severe harm to unsuspecting residents. The facility has had chronic problems, being repeatedly unable to provide the level of care necessary to ensure that residents are kept safe, healthy, and protected.

Many different incidents and factors led to the likely closure of the facility. However, this latest story explains that two recent suspicious deaths in the last few months likely contributed significantly to the ultimate decision by the Illinois Department of Public Health to revoke the facility’s license.

The most recent incident involved a female resident who was found unresponsive in her room at the facility in late January of this year. Staff members found the resident sitting against a wall in her room with a coaxial cable wrapped around her throat and between her jaws. Investigations by the state public health department found that many red flags were raised by the death. For one thing, the report issued afterward indicated that the staff members at the home had no idea how long the resident how long the resident had been dead. That is because monitors at the home do not check on residents in their room.

Our Illinois nursing home neglect attorneys were shocked to read that in that particular incident, police officers discovered three burn pipes suggested that drug use likely occurred in the room. Staff members had no idea how long the drug-related items were in the room. This clearly indicates nursing home neglect, with facility employees seemingly failing to have even the most basic understanding about conduct in its own facility.

That death came only a few months after another highly suspicious incident. In late August a 37-year old resident was found dead in the facility. The coroner’s office later examined the victim and discovered the cause of death: drug intoxications from antidepressants drug prescriptions. Specifically, two of the four drugs that she had been prescribed combined to lead to the intoxication that took her life.

The death should not have been surprising, considering the same woman had been transported to a hospital when she was found unconscious a few weeks earlier. At that time the hospital notes indicated that the woman was treated for respiratory failure because of “narcotic overdose/opiate poisoning.” In other words, the facility was clearly on notice that there was a problem with this woman’s prescriptions. Yet, the facility kept such poor records, that it was virtually impossible for state health officials to check to ensure that the resident was receiving the proper dosage of the pills. All of this was on top of the fact that the IDPH report voiced concerns that there were many Vicodin pills and other drugs that were not accounted for or consumed by residents.

Each Joliet nursing home neglect lawyer at our firm knows that these two recent incidents are just the latest in a series of problems that have been found at the facility for years.

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The Presidents of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Jerry Latherow, recently had an article published in the State-Journal Register discussing the merits of the civil justice system in our state. Unfortunately, when the civil justice system is discussed in a public way these days it almost always has to do with tort reform or otherwise critical attacks on the supposed harms caused by the civil law. Our Illinois nursing home abuse lawyers have helped many local residents seek fairness and accountability by using that system. We all should be proud of the way the justice system in our country affords all those hurt by others the right to a level playing field no matter how big or powerful the other side.

Yet, those big interests who are held in check by the civil justice system are constantly working to undermine the system. Each Chicago nursing home neglect lawyer knows that this includes big nursing home companies who try to shirk responsibility for the harms caused when inadequate care is provided to seniors at these skilled nursing facilities. Without the protections afforded by the civil justice system, these facilities—already driven by profits—will have even more reason to make policies to pad their own pockets. The care of the vulnerable seniors who depend on that care will only be made worse as a result.

Attorney Latherow echoed those thoughts in the recent article, explaining how the civil justice system demands fairness, accountability, and increased safety in so many areas. He noted the many recent headlines that suggest how big interests can cause harm to so many community members, from massive car recalls and prescription drug problems to financial institutions that leave consumers in difficult positions.

It is essentially uncontested that corporations are always driven by profit—after all, that is what business is all about. However, it is absolutely essential that that drive for profits not leave vast swaths of the community hurt in the process. This includes vulnerable nursing home residents who count on their facilities not to provide substandard care in order to make more money for shareholders.

Federal and state regulators do not have anywhere near the resources to ensure that the appropriate standards are upheld to protect consumers. The civil justice system fills in the gaps. As the article explains, “Each American has the constitutionally protected right to hold those who harm them responsible, whether it be another person or a large corporation. We are afforded this right in a civil court.”

Most community members understand how this plays out—both sides of the issues are given an opportunity to explain what happened and a jury of other community members makes a decision. Yet, this right is under attack. Big interests, including nursing home companies, the insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies, big tobacco, and others are trying to limit access to the jury and then limit what the jury can decide. Each Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer at our firm believes that we must stand up against these invidious attacks on a bedrock system of justice in our country. Fairness, safety, and responsible must be defended.

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Money makes the world go round. In the nursing home world—as in all other large businesses—the drive for profits seems to dominate all decisions, including those that will affect the care provided to nursing home residents. Our Chicago nursing home neglect lawyers recently came across an article discussing th conduct of one large national long-term care facility chain that highlights this issue.

Take Part recently published an update on a recent high-profile class-action nursing home neglect lawsuit. Much news was made in recent years when nearly 42,000 residents joined in a class-action lawsuit against a large nursing home company—Skilled Healthcare. The suit alleged that the conglomerate which owned and operated many nursing homes provided negligent care to those in the facilities. A jury in the case eventually ruled against the company. They returned a verdict for the staggering sum of $677 million as a result of the near countless residents harmed by the company’s misconduct which led to nursing home neglect.

A large part of the problem was that the facilities in question were not abiding by state laws which mandate a minimum of daily personal care hours per resident. In particular, California law where the suit was filed mandates that each resident receive 3.2 hours of personal care daily. Yet, countless residents explained that the facility did not come close to providing that much care.

Following the $677 million verdict, the company worked feverishly behind the scenes to try to get the award lowered. Eventually the company and the plaintiff agreed to lower the amount to $50 million, so long as the facility also agreed to submit to frequent inspections by a “special auditor.” The hope was that the regular inspections would act as a measure to ensure that similar misconduct never again occurred.

What did the nursing home company do in response?

Instead of improving their standards and submitting to the inspections, they have worked to skirt the entire purpose of the settlement. According to a report in the North Coast Journal, the company decided to essentially outsource their management to a subcontractor. In that way, the company could still make money on the beds (they “rented” them to the subcontractor), but the maneuver allowed them to avoid being subjected to the new inspections.

In many ways these evasive actions are similar to those by many companies that seek to avoid accountability in legal cases with complex corporate structures. It often takes considerable effort to even figure out who owns what companies and who is making money for various facilities. This is all done so that those hurt by the company’s conduct struggle to figure out who is legally obligated to provide redress.

Unfortunately, each Illinois nursing home neglect lawyer at our firm appreciates that these sorts of money-driven maneuvers occur far too often across the country. The care of senior residents in need is rarely the #1 priority at these for-profit long-term care facilities. That is a shame.

An executive director for one elder care organization involved in the effort with this case summarized pithily that: “Let’s face it, nursing homes are all about money. You can’t touch their hearts on this stuff. You have to touch their wallets.”

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Last week the state of Illinois revoked the license of a long-term care facility which has long been the site of Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse—Hillcrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Each Joliet nursing home lawyer is intimately familiar with the misconduct at this home. Our attorneys have helped families whose loved ones were hurt when they did not receive the care to which the law demands at this facility.

Now it seems that the state public health officials have decided that the level of care at the facility has been deficient for too long. In a recent Sun Times story, the Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed that the troubled facility was scheduled for decertification from the Medicare program on April 1st. The vast majority of local nursing home residents, particularly those at chronically negligent homes, have the care paid for by Medicare. That is why many facilities cannot continue to operate without being part of the Medicare program. They usually must close when they lose the right to participate in the program.

Our Joliet nursing home abuse lawyers know that there have long-been complaints about the care at Hillcrest. Last month the state’s public health department investigated the facility after ten different complaints were filed by residents who transferred out of the period during a single week in March. The residents were allegedly transferred without any regard to the wishes or preferences of the resident’s or their families.

This transfer issue was just the latest of many complaints about conduct at the facility. For example, previous allegations suggested that one younger resident sexually, physically, and mentally abused nearly two dozen other residents at the home. The shocking allegations included claims of the resident sexually exposing himself and threatening residents with a weapon if they reported his conduct.

One of our Illinois nursing home neglect lawyers, Steven Levin, was interviewed for the story on Hillcrest’s closure, because of the firm’s experience with these exact cases. Attorney Levin summarized the long-term problems at the facility by explaining that “As long as ten years ago that home had difficulty preventing residents from injuring other residents. They’ve had a very spotty regulatory record that is filled with incidents of neglect and, frankly, it’s about time that the state and federal government took the appropriate action to shut that home down.”

Unfortunately, closures of homes that provide chronic mistreatment are few and far between. Of course, there are many different issues involved in potential facility closures. For example, even in this case, the mayor of Joliet explained that he intervened to try to get the state’s health department to allow another inspection of the home before closure—essentially trying to get the facility yet another chance to shape up. The Mayor noted his concerns about the jobs that may be lost as a result of the closure.

There are undoubtedly a range of economic issues tangled in these decisions. Yet, at the end of the day it has to come down to proper levels of care being provided at these homes. If senior care facilities are not properly caring for seniors, then the facility has to be shut down—the fact that there are employees at the facility cannot dictate the decision.

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That state of Illinois is in a financial pickle. For quite a few years policymakers in Springfield have been trying to better ensure the state lives within its means. The basic problem is something that all local residents understand—the state is paying out more money than it is taking in. When it comes to state government, the revenues come from a range of taxes, including state income and sales taxes. The expenditures include a wide range of government issues but some of the largest portions are things like payment for state employee pensions and healthcare costs for those using Medicaid.

Our Illinois nursing home lawyers appreciate that local seniors have a lot at stake when it comes to these issues. Proposed cuts to balance the budget and fix the state’s financial mess will undoubtedly affect many seniors. At the end of the day, certain changes might have to be made to ensure that the government remains solvent. Yet, it is vital that when all of the pros and cons of each cut are considered, the rights of vulnerable nursing homes be considered fairly.

A story last week from the Quincy Herald-Whig discussed certain proposed cuts and the effect that it might have on the state’s seniors—particularly how it might increase the prevalence of Illinois nursing home neglect and abuse.

The article explained how various nursing home employees picketed last weekend informally as a protest against the Governor’s proposed cuts to Medicaid. Those cuts would impact long-term care throughout the state. As one protested explained, “This could have devastating effects. It could cause some nursing homes to close.”

The proposal which sparked the outrage would eliminate $2.7 billion from state Medicaid payments. Of that total, about $237 million would be cut from funds that otherwise would have gone to state nursing homes. In addition, the Governor is hoping to lessen some of the damage from cuts by increasing the tax of each pack of cigarettes by $1.

The financial problems are twofold. Not only are current proposed expenditures far higher than we can afford, but there is already a backlog of unpaid bills. The state’s Comptroller recently reported that, amazingly, the state already has about $5.5 billion of bills that remain unpaid. These represent things that have already been purchased. However, that figure may actually be an under-accounting. When other state office bills are taken into account, the state may actually have about $9 billion in unpaid bills. Unpaid Medicaid payments are a large part of those overdue invoices.

Each Chicago nursing home neglect lawyer at our firm appreciates that these issues have very real effects on the lives of nursing home residents. For example, one nursing home aide reported that the state is already seven months behind in payments. The money shortage translates into day-to-day issues for these facilities, affecting things as simple as purchases of adult diapers and other necessary supplies. We understand that there are no easy options with these money issues. Yet, at the end of the day, the proposals have to be fair and honest. Vulnerable seniors need to have a voice in the process—even if not their own—to ensure that their issues are heard by policymakers.

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