July 6, 2010

Chicago Nursing Home Resident Drowns in Bathtub

The Chicago Tribune reported last night on the drowning death of a Chicago nursing home resident. Jean Engstrom, a 51 year old mentally ill woman, died in the evening of July 4th at the Warren Park Nursing Pavilion. The facility is suppose to provide care to nearly 100 residents and is located on the northwest part of the city in West Rogers Park, near Damen Avenue and Devon Avenue.

Ms. Engstrom was found in her bathtub shortly before 9pm on Sunday evening, while most of the 4th of July holiday events were still finishing. Staff officials found her in a bathtub with the water running. Police officers called to the scene tried to revive her, but they were unsuccessful. She died after arriving at St. Francis Hospital.

The investigation into Ms. Engstrom’s death in ongoing with homicide and negligence not ruled out as possibilities.

The Medicare.gov Nursing Home Comparison site indicates that the Warren Park Nursing Pavilion was inspected by government officials several times between February 2009 and April 2010 after complaints had been filed against the pavilion. Overall, the inspectors gave the home its lowest ranking (much below average) for failing to meet health requirements and for the quality of its medical staff.

Specifically, the investigators found that the nursing home previously had failed to protect residents from mistreatment, neglect, and theft of personal property. They also revealed that Warren Park Nursing facility staff occassionally failed to provide care that respected each residents' self dignity and personal preference. The inspection concluded with concerns that the facility did not adequately ensure that the nursing home area was free of dangers that cause accidents.

Our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti are intimately familiar with the care provided at nearly every nursing facility in the Chicago area. We have worked with dozens of clients winning numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts on behalf of victims of nursing home negligence and abuse. Deaths like Ms. Engstroms are almost always preventable if proper care, supervision, and oversight is provided at the facility. If you suspect anything similar, be sure to contact a nursing home lawyer in your area.

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Posted In: Chicago Nursing Homes

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June 22, 2010

Systematic Negligence Sparks Elder Abuse Lawsuit at Nursing Home

The Globe Gazette recently reported on a new lawsuit alleging nursing home negligence by the Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea. The suit charges nursing home staff with failure to properly supervise four teenage certified nursing assistants alleged to have committed a wide-range of abuses on their elderly residents.

The abuse was carried out unabated over the course of four to six months. It included sexual groping of the residents and repeated physical beatings. The teenage assistants also went so far as to explain to one particular resident that the facility was actually a prison in an attempt to confuse and torment the mentally impaired elderly victim.

This is the fourth lawsuit stemming from the elder abuse at this facility. Police reports indicate that 15 residents with Alzheimer’s disease were abused by the four nursing home staff members. In each case the victims have charged the nursing home with failure to screen employees and failure to supervise their actions to prevent abuse and neglect.

The physical dependence of residents at these facilities makes them especially vulnerable to both physical and sexual assault. The patients in these cases had severe cognitive impairments, making it difficult for them to explain the extent of the abuse. It is for that reason that administrators at these facilities must be especially diligent in screening all potential employees. Once hired, administrators must ensure that employees are properly trained to provide adequate care for elderly residents and closely monitored to ensure that no abuse or neglect occurs. Their failure to do so can have devastating effects, as seen in these cases in Albert Lea.

Our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti know the price of nursing home abuse and neglect all too well. We have filed suit and won numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for Illinois elder abuse victims and their families at the hands of unsupervised, untrained, and unmonitored nursing home staff. Be sure to contact a nursing home lawyer if you suspect a loved one is a victim of this type of negligence.

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Posted In: Abuse, Chicago Nursing Homes, Failure to supervise, Nursing Home Abuse, Nursing Home Negligence

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June 2, 2010

Illinois Nursing Homes are Facing Reformation

The Chicago Law Bulletin is reporting that Illinois Governor Quinn may soon sign legislation that will greatly reform nursing homes. The bill has already passed both chambers of the legislature was the result of many task forces that were created in response to violence and sexual abuse in the understaffed nursing homes. The bill would increase the required staffing in Illinois’ 1,200 nursing homes to 3.8 hours of nursing care for each resident. Additionally, the licenses fees for nursing homes would increase as well as fines for any nursing homes guilty of nursing home abuse.

The new nursing home legislation would also change the number of inspectors employed at the Illinois Department of Public Health. By 2013 Illinois would be required to employ one inspector for every 300 licensed nursing home beds. Hospitals are also affected. They would be required to initiate criminal background checks before transferring patients who are ambulatory and between 18 and 70 years old to nursing homes for the first time. This provision was implemented because many nursing home residents were physically and sexually abusing other residents in the homes. The problems of mixing those elderly residents with the mentally ill have created many problems. The bill tries to address this by including a pilot program to require expanded fingerprint background checks for those younger residents in mixed homes. This will hopefully put an end to the sexual assaults and batteries that occur at the home.

The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti applaud the efforts of the Illinois legislature to hold nursing homes more accountable for their actions. The safety of our most vulnerable residents should be a top priority. Hopefully, these measures will be able to prevent nursing home abuse from occurring, and will send a strong message to those nursing homes who continue to commit elderly abuse.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Incidents, Legislation

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May 9, 2010

Nursing Home Reform Bill sent to Illinois Governor

The Illinois Senate has given an overwhelming amount of support to Illinois nursing home legislation that will overhaul the standards for care and safety in Illinois troubled nursing homes. This new legislation was written after a Chicago Tribune investigation that revealed a great number of attacks, rapes and murders in nursing homes that mixed elderly residents with convicted felons.

The Illinois nursing home bill was approved by the Senate with a vote of 46-8. It will require nursing homes to increase staffing levels. Many studies have shown that those nursing homes with a higher resident to staff member ratio tend to have a lower rate of nursing home abuse. The nursing home legislation will also ensure that those residents in nursing homes will have a higher standard to meet upon admittance if they have a serious mental illness. Illinois has the highest number of mentally ill residents living amongst elderly residents of all the states. Finally the nursing home legislation will segregate the most dangerous residents in secure units where intensive monitoring and treatment will be ushered by employees. This will help decrease the amount of attacks that occur between mentally ill residents and the general population.

State senator Heather Steans of Chicago stated that this was long overdue legislation in Illinois. The legislation reflects some of the 38 recommendations given by Governor Quinn’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force. The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti applaud the efforts of the Illinois Senate to decrease nursing home abuse. To read more about the nursing home legislation, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse, Chicago Nursing Homes, Legislation

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April 28, 2010

Illinois Attorney General Leads South Side Nursing Home Sweep

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan led a team of state and local law enforcement officials in a sweep of Presidential Pavilion on Chicago’s south side. The nursing home sweep was planned to find wanted criminals at the nursing home. Three arrests of felons were made at Presidential Pavilion in the unannounced visit. Madigan arrived at the nursing home accompanied by 30 police and state officials who went room to room talking to the residents about their nursing home safety.

The authorities had issued 14 warrants for felon residents at Presidential Pavilion. Their were 20 resident in the nursing home that had a criminal record of a total of 950 arrests and 399 convictions. Morris Esformes owns this nursing home and total they control 28 homes in Illinois and Florida. This raid occurs as Governor Quinn and his nursing home task force are in the final stages of completing a nursing home safety-reform bill. This Illinois nursing home legislation will help decrease the nursing home abuse that so often occurs in Chicago nursing home. The nursing home debates include increasing nursing home employees at facilities. This is an extremely important matter because studies show that the per staff to resident ratio has the greatest effect on nursing home abuse. There will also be stiffer penalties for those nursing home that commit nursing home abuse. These raids and the new legislation will greatly help reduce the problems that are occurring in Illinois nursing homes. To read more about the nursing home raids, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation, Incidents

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April 24, 2010

GAO Releases Nursing Home Study and Identifies SFF

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is reporting that they are now notifying those nursing homes who are candidates to become Special Focus Facilities (SFF). SFFs are chosen from among the 15 worst-scoring nursing home in each individual state. Those who chose SFFs analyze the Five-Star Quality Nursing Home Rating System in order to choose which homes make the list. Once a home is chosen as an SFF it is subject to extra inspections and increased enforcement.

The NCCNHR is reporting that of the 355 nursing homes in the SFF program since January of 2005, 51 percent graduated. This means that they had two consecutive standard surveys and no complaint investigations. However, this also shows that almost half of the nursing homes failed to improve. They will continue to remain in the program designed to curb nursing home neglect and abuse. The GAO discovered that SFFs were more likely to be for-profit nursing homes who were affiliated with chain owners.

The SFFs are sorted into different categories by the CMS. One such category is facilities that have not improved. Currently, Illinois has one nursing home in this list, Embassy Health Care Center in Wilmington, Illinois. There is also a category for facilities that are beginning to show improvement. Two Chicago nursing homes are in this SFF category. Both Alden Wentworth Rehab & Healthcare Center and International Nursing And Rehab Center are located on the city’s south side. Additionally, Pekin Manor in Pekin, Illinois is identified as an SFF. To locate more nursing homes that have been designated as SFFs, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Government Reports, Alden Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect, Bad nursing homes, Chicago Nursing Homes

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April 22, 2010

Somerset Place Gives Up License

The Chicago Defender is reporting that the Chicago nursing home of Somerset Place has had to give up their nursing home license. They also have to pay fines that will total $20,000. Until their closure, Somerset Place had more than 300 mentally ill residents housed in the facility. Investigators found that the nursing home had many fights and verbal abuse amongst the elderly residents and the mentally ill patients. The nursing home was also cited for lack of supervision to the point that the federal government terminated their funding. Countless nursing home studies have found that proper staffing is one of the quintessential factors to a well-functioning nursing home. If you or a loved one experienced nursing home abuse at Somerset Place, please consult a Chicago nursing home lawyer.

While a license-revocation hearing was scheduled for this week, it was canceled due to the recent settlement. Somerset Place had been owned by a group of investors and was a for-profit nursing home. To read more about Somerset Place’s closure, please click the link.

The Illinois Department of Health is responsible for the regulation of nursing homes along with to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Illinois licensure surveys are conducted on the nursing home site and cover a three to four day period. These inspectors evaluate all aspects of resident care by making sure residents are being properly medicated, fed and looked after. As in the above case, they also look into any suspected or alleged crimes and consult with the local police department. The IDPH plays a vital role in the assurance of nursing home safety and seek to diminish nursing home abuse.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Bad nursing homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Incidents, Somerset Place

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March 17, 2010

Class-Action Lawsuit Orders Illinois to Help Residents Transfer Out of Institutions and Nursing Homes

A settlement in a class-action lawsuit has demanded that the state of Illinois must help thousands of residents move out of large mental institutions. The state must also provide those residents with support services. The Chicago Sun Times has reported that the state will have five years to help those residents make a transition to small homes and apartments. The residents will be overseen by a court-appointed monitor.

The negligence lawsuit was filed by the ACLU and claimed that Illinois has violated the rights of 4,500 mentally ill people by forcing them to live with large groups of others who have mental illnesses in under-funded facilities. By doing this, the ACLU argued that Illinois had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. One 51-year-old victim resided in the Chicago nursing home of Columbus Manor for nearly 10 years. He wants to move out and get a job and believes that he can manage his own medications with some help. He feels that the state has been too slow to help him with this transition. Illinois has 25 nursing homes that will be subject to this settlement.

Another nursing home lawsuit has been filed that involves those mentally ill residents who live in nursing homes with the elderly. More than 13,000 mentally ill people live in nursing homes throughout Illinois that also house senior residents. It is imperative that Illinois address these problems for the sake of both the mentally ill and the elderly. The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti believe this is a positive step towards nursing home reformation. To learn more about the Illinois settlement, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Verdicts and Settlements

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March 11, 2010

Chicago and Illinois Move to Reduce Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

Illinois and Chicago officials are looking towards new legislative proposals to improve nursing home safety. 48th Ward Alderman Mary Ann Smith has introduced ordinance amendments which will hopefully strengthen the current city of Chicago inspections of nursing facilities. Additionally, the nursing home legislation will increase enforcement and penalties for incidents of nursing home abuse. Under the new legislation nursing homes will be required to make the details of their financial and safety records more accessible to the public.

While this new city legislation is being debated, Governor Quinn’s office is planning to introduce legislation that will implement the recommendations of the recently formed Nursing Home Safety Task Force. This task force was formed immediately after the Chicago Tribune reported the grave conditions that take place at area Chicago nursing homes. These incidents included rapes, attacks and murders in those facilities that house the elderly with the mentally ill. The task force has recommended tightening criminal background checks on new residents, increasing nursing staffing and bolstering sanctions against facilities whom chronically breach safety regulations.

The Chicago nursing home lawyers of Levin and Perconti support the recent efforts to improve nursing home safety. We recognize that legislative action may decrease the number of incidents of nursing home abuse throughout the state of Illinois. Many other organizations are supporting the legislation such as the AARP, Illinois Citizens for Better Care and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. The crafters of the bill believe that the great amount of support they are receiving will help the nursing home bill pass through the legislative channels. To learn more about the recent proposals, read the Chicago Tribune article on Illinois nursing home legislation.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation, Legislation, Nursing Home Abuse

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March 10, 2010

IDPH to Close Chicago, Illinois Nursing Home

According to the Chicago Tribune, Somerset Place in Chicago will officially close on Friday, and the state must transfer Somerset's remaining residents. The closure comes after Medicaid funding was cut off and the Illinois Department of Public Health revoked Somerset's funding after inspections revealed rampant nursing home abuse and neglect. Somerset Place nursing home has received attention in the media due to an investigation by the Tribune into alleged abuse and neglect at the nursing home. The population at Somerset Place is entirely made up of residents suffering from mental illnesses.

Eric Rothner owns a number of nursing homes throughout Illinois, including the management company Care Centers, Inc. Care Centers declared bankruptcy recently, but was managing Somerset up until bankruptcy was declared. Care Centers, Inc. is the subject of a number of nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits, however it is questionable whether the victims will ever see compensation. The company still owes $400,000 to a former employee after a jury found that Care Centers denied her leave benefits.

Despite this debt, the Tribune reports that Rothner received payments of $900,000 from Care Centers, Inc. in the year before the management company filed for bankruptcy. A judge called this a "deliberate attempt to conceal and divert assets to avoid paying the judgment."

The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti have filed a number of lawsuits against Care Centers, Inc. If you suspect that your loved on has suffered injury or death as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect in a Care Centers home, please contact our office. We will be happy to discuss your legal options with you.

According to the IDPH's Nursing Homes in Ilinois website, Rothner owns a number of Illinois homes, including:
• Briar Place
• Bryn Mawr Care
• Concord Extended Care
• Countryside Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
• Hillcrest Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
• Bella Vista Care Center
• Avenue Care Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
• Prairie Village Healthcare Center
• Boulevard Care Nursing & Rehabilitation
• Park House Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
• Elmwood Care
• Rainbow Beach Care Center
• Westshire Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
• Wheaton Care Center
• Wilson Care
• South Suburban Rehabilitation Center

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Posted In: Care Centers Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect, Chicago Nursing Homes, Somerset Place

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February 27, 2010

Illinois Continues Nursing Home Safety Push to Reduce Abuse and Neglect

According to the Chicago Tribune, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan stated that both her office and the local police are intensifying their efforts to protect nursing home residents by making unannounced visits and conducting broad safety checks at troubled Illinois nursing homes. Criminal investigators have joined with Chicago police to examine nursing home records to uncover unregistered felons and sex offenders living within the facilities. They are also interviewing residents and staff at those facilities with histories of serious safety breaches. Madigan’s chief of staff stated that the current regulatory system has proved itself incapable of any type of rapid response to violations.

Governor Quinn is also working to introduce a comprehensive package of nursing home safety-reform bills. This is after Quinn’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force completed a 52-page plan to overhaul to state’s troubled long-term system that includes nursing homes housing more than 3,000 patients with felony records. The task force has met with representatives of the state’s largest nursing-home association as well as advocates for both the mentally ill and the elderly. It has recommended screening of people admitted to nursing homes by identifying those with criminal backgrounds. This will help decrease the amount of in-resident nursing home abuse.

The task force was initiated in response to a Chicago Tribune investigation documenting the rapes and attacks at Illinois nursing homes. If you or a loved one has been of victim of nursing home abuse, please contact a Chicago nursing home abuse lawyer. To learn more about the findings of the nursing home task force, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation

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February 20, 2010

Illinois Task Force Releases Report, Recommendations will Reduce Nursing Home Negligence

On February 19, the Illinois nursing home task force on safety released their final report with recommendations on how to improve safety and care for nursing home residents. Click on the link to view the report on Illinois nursing homes in its entirety.

The task force report contained 37 recommendations for improving safety and the quality of care for nursing home residents who suffer from mental and physical illness or disabilities. The task force report calls for improvements in the screening and referral system to ensure that people with serious mental illnesses are referred to the most appropriate residential setting for their condition. It also includes recommendations to improve care, including raising minimum staffing levels and increasing nursing home fees and taxes to cover more government oversight. In addition, the report recommends expanding home and community-based programs to give more options to people with mental illness. Along with offering the task force’s recommendations, the 52-page report contains next steps, including relevant nursing home reform legislation and changes to nursing home regulations.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the Governor and task force set a deadline of April 30, 2010 for many of the reforms to be implemented. To prepare for this swift change, state agencies and lawmakers have already begun to draft new regulations and legislation to address the nursing home reform. The Chicago nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti hope that the task force’s recommendations will bring real change to nursing homes in Illinois. Currently, many homes house older vulnerable residents alongside younger residents with mental illnesses. Due to insufficient staffing levels and training, nursing home abuse between residents often occurs because nursing home staff cannot provide the proper care and supervision that residents with mental illnesses need. Improving standards of care and increasing living options for younger people with mental illnesses will not only protect older nursing home residents, but will also offer better treatment to those suffering from mental illness.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes

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February 8, 2010

Chicago, Illinois Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney Steven Levin on Nursing Home Safety

Chicago nursing home attorney Steven Levin wrote to the Chicago Tribune to praise them for their commitment to uncovering nursing home abuse. He applauded the Tribune’s efforts in raising public awareness of Chicago nursing home abuse. Attorney Levin believes that there is a critical need for adequate staffing in nursing homes to protect residents from harm or abuse. When nursing-home owners focus on census over patient care, nursing home negligence ensues. Care workers must be sufficiently trained to create an environment void of physical and sexual abuse. Steven Levin urged readers to contact their respective state representatives to demand legislation that provides minimum staffing standards for Illinois nursing homes. This will help avoid Chicago nursing home abuse. To read the entire letter to the editor, please check out the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Home Abuse, Chicago Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation, Levin & Perconti in the News

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February 6, 2010

Feds Terminate Funding for Somerset Place Nursing Home in Chicago, Illinois After Accounts of Nursing Home Abuse

As the Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog reported, Somerset Place nursing home on the north side of Chicago has received a number of IDPH violations for repeated acts of violence and nursing home abuse and neglect that have compromised the safety of its residents. The nursing home was also the subject of several articles in the Chicago Tribune that highlighted the nursing home's problems and the Uptown community's concern. On Friday, federal health care officials announced that they would cut funding for the troubled nursing home. This is the first time in four years that the federal government has cut funding for a nursing home in Chicago.

All of the nursing home's 300 residents have a primary diagnosis of mental illness, and according to the Tribune 66 of these residents had criminal backgrounds. Staff members told the Tribune that insufficient staffing and training for direct care workers has created a chaotic environment where staff cannot properly supervise residents, many of whom need constant supervision. Without staffing and training, nursing home staff cannot properly supervise residents, and this leads to physical and sexual violence among residents.

According to the report, the Chicago nursing home will continue to receive Medicaid funding for 30 days, and the home has filed an emergency lawsuit to stop the CMS from pulling funding. The state health department will now look to move these residents to other Chicago nursing homes. Read full coverage of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service's decision to cut funding for Somerset Place in Chicago.

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Posted In: Bad nursing homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Sex offenders and parolees in nursing homes, Somerset Place, Staffing Issues

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February 5, 2010

Somerset Place in Chicago, Illinois is Facing Shutdown for Nursing Home Negligence

Chicago’s Somerset Place nursing home has filed a civil lawsuit to stop the government from administratively shutting it down. State and federal authorities were threatening to close Somerset Place until it remedies the serious safety breaches they found upon inspection. The officials stated that these breaches put “the health and safety of residents in immediate jeopardy.” The Chicago nursing home has filed a submitted plan of correction. This story correlates to the recent Chicago Tribune reports that found violence and elderly abuse at the facility. There were also numerous Department of Public Health citations along with complaints from the community. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did warn the facility that it would face termination from their programs unless these problems were addressed. The nursing home negligence has lead to fines of at least $6,050 per day. Also, their Illinois state license is in the process of being revoked. If you have a loved one within Somerset Place, please consult a Chicago nursing home attorney. To learn more about the nursing home revocation, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation, Incidents, Somerset Place

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January 31, 2010

1 in 5 Nursing Homes Get Low Stars

The USA Today has released a report stating that one in five of the country’s 15,700 nursing homes were found on the lower end of the five-star scale. It seems that almost all of the nursing home receiving one or two stars are owned by-for-profit corporations. The stars reflect inspections performed in the nursing homes as well as complaint investigations. Most owners must take responsibility for the consequences of the poorly performing nursing homes. The lowest-rated facilities have averaged about 14 deficiencies per site. These deficiencies include nursing home abuse and safety violations. You may visit the nursing home compare website by clicking on the link. Many Chicago nursing homes only have one star. These include: Alden Princeton; Avenue Care Center; Belhaven Nursing & Rehab Center; Kenwood Healthcare Center; and Waterfront Terrace. The nursing home negligence attorneys at Levin & Perconti have filed numerous lawsuits against one-star nursing homes in Chicago. They have also noticed that many of these homes have not improved their ratings and continue to commit Chicago nursing home abuse.

To read the story concerning the low star nursing homes, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, Government Reports, Chicago Nursing Homes, How to choose a home

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National LTC Ombudsman January Gazette on Nursing Home Abuse

The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care has released their January Gazette. This newsletter includes important articles on nursing home abuse. The newsletter highlights the Chicago nursing home abuse that occurs when felons live in facilities. The newsletter also discusses eviction rights and the U.S. News and World Report highlighting the benefits of Resident-Centered Care. This gazette is a must read for all nursing home lawyers. To read the Gazette, Please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Ombudsmen and Resident Advocates, Elder Law Attorneys, National Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Useful publications

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January 30, 2010

Somerset Place in Chicago, Illinois May Lose Funding After Reports of Negligence

Chicago’s Somerset Place nursing home is at risk of losing its federal funding. They have cleared there first hurdle in ensuring that does not happen by dealing with the resident’s threat to safety. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said that the agency has approved those plans. Somerset Place has recently been cited for fire hazards caused by smoking, staff-to-resident abuse, lack of supervision and administrative failures. The government will unexpectedly visit Somerset Place to ensure that the plan is working. Also, Somerset Place will submit a larger plan for fixing other problems that aren’t such an immediate threat to the residents. Many of the Somerset’s 300 residents have mental illnesses. To learn more about the failing nursing home, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Somerset Place

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January 28, 2010

Federal Officials Finally Investigate Abuse at Chicago Nursing Home

Federal investigators are looking at a troubled home which appears to be guilty of Chicago nursing home abuse. Somerset Place is a Chicago nursing home in the area of Uptown that specializes in mentally ill adults and has a history of citations for patient safety violations. Between April 2008 and July 2009, Chicago police have investigated over 15 alleged assaults or batteries in Somerset Place. They have also investigated five reports of sexual assault. Additionally, A Chicago Reporter analysis of nursing home violations from 2005-2009 found that this Chicago nursing home has been fined $100,000 for three separate incidents during that period. Two years ago a Somerset Place nursing home resident was murdered less than a half a mile from the home. However, two years later the home has still not been investigated. It is time that nursing homes alert the police of the abuse that is occurring between residents. To learn more about the nursing home abuse, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Nursing Home Abuse, Somerset Place

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January 26, 2010

More Illinois Nursing Homes are Swept for Residents with Warrants

Authorities swept two Chicago-area nursing homes for people with outstanding arrest warrants. The sweeps identified 20 residents with warrants ranging from domestic battery to assault. The raids were initiated by Attorney General Lisa Madigan who stated that Illinois is “working to keep Illinois nursing homes safe and not safe houses for fugitives.” Eight people were arrested on the warrants. The team searched the Rainbow Beach Care Center and the Kenwood Healthcare Center. They are both located on the South Side of Chicago. State records show that both facilities have large number of felons who create frequent police reports. Rainbow Beach had 18 felons out of a total of 193 residents and 17 reports of assaults or batteries. Kenwood has 95 felons living amongst 172 residents and has had 30 police reports of assaults or batteries. Madigan is upset that background check laws are not being complied with. She hopes that people will follow the legislation to avoid nursing home abuse. To learn more about the recent raids, check out the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Compromised Care: Tribune Investigation, Sex offenders and parolees in nursing homes

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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.

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