Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

A recent article highlights the dangers of residing in and placing family members in uninsured nursing homes. Uninsured nursing homes are extremely dangerous for residents because there is no way that residents can get fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries and families can recoup fair and reasonable compensation for their loved one’s wrongful death in a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit. The article highlights three tragic cases where a woman suffered severe pressure sores because nurses did not maintain her cast, another woman suffered when she was left on a bedpan for too long, and one resident died from dehydration in a nursing home. Unfortunately, none of these residents nor their families could fair and reasonable compensation for their injuries. Currently, the Illinois House is considering HB 5213 which would require at least $1 million in insurance coverage for Illinois nursing homes to protect residents who may be victims of nursing home abuse and neglect.

Read more about the dangers of uninsured nursing homes here.

Proposed changes to federal funding for Medicaid could cost Illinois more than 10,000 jobs and over $400 million in lost wages. Over the next five years, Illinois could see upwards of $2.5 billion in lost funding. Critics of the federal plan warn that reductions in Medicaid funding will shift the bill to the state in an already shaky economy. For Illinois nursing homes
this reduction in Medicaid is a serious threat to resident care and could lead to increased incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect. For instance, a nursing home in Peoria illustrates the problem: more than 70% of its residents are Medicaid funded. Many nursing homes and their residents that count on Medicaid may have to make alternative arrangements if the budget cuts go through.

Read more here.

The US Senate has begun consideration of a new act that would raise the bar on nursing home care nationwide and attempt to curb nursing home abuse and neglect. The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act, S. 2641, would shed light on the quality and operation of nursing homes and implement new standards for care. Specifically, the Act would provide public information on the owners/operators of nursing homes, the staff turnover, nurse staffing levels, and penalties the home receives for poor care. Together, this information will help elder advocates and nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers to get a better sense of an individual home’s quality of care.

Additionally, the Act would require independent audits of nursing home chains and increase sanctions on chains with chronic problems of nursing home abuse and neglect. Facilities in violation would face increased civil penalties including fines up to $100,000 when a resident dies from nursing home abuse and neglect. Facilities would also have to pay fines into escrow accounts pending appeals.

Other provisions include a requirement that facilities give 60 days notice when they plan to close and allow for continuation of Medicare and Medicaid payments until residents are successfully relocated and a provision to provide for studies of temporary management and training of nurse aides and supervisors.

Visit NCCNHR to learn more here.

The debate over arbitration agreements for nursing home residents now has a new voice: the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, two lobbying groups for the nursing home industry, now argue that arbitration agreements would improve nursing home resident care. However, arbitration agreements often severely limit the amount and type of recovery that a resident can seek if there is nursing home abuse and neglect and only serve to prevent nursing home residents from seeking justice in court. Nursing home residents should not lose their rights to seek justice and ensure that they are protected from nursing home abuse and neglect by filing a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit.

Read more about arbitration agreements here.

Increasingly, nursing home operators seek to get their new residents to sign mandatory arbitration agreements that make it mandatory for residents to arbitrate outside of a courtroom any disputes over their nursing home care, nursing home abuse, or even wrongful death. An arbitration hearing is very different from a nursing home abuse lawsuit in court and often can result in the injured nursing home resident not being able to recover as much for their nursing home abuse.

Consumer advocates, nursing home abuse lawyers, and lawmakers agree that arbitration may not be the best means to protect seniors’ rights. Congress may soon consider banning arbitration agreements for nursing home residents and nursing home abuse after a bill was filed last week.

For the story, click here.

A recent state law change highlights the need for family members to stay current with their loved ones’ care in nursing homes. Previously, an Iowa state law effectively blocked public access to state nursing home inspector findings and reports of nursing home abuse. This law made it even more difficult for family members to choose the right nursing home and often hid possible incidents of nursing home abuse.

The new law requires immediate disclosure of state inspector findings of nursing home abuse and neglect for public review.

See the full story here.

Continue reading "Some State Laws Block Public Access to Records of Nursing Home Abuse" »

In some states, legislators attempt to alleviate budget concerns for eldercare by repealing laws that provide for minimum standards of care for nursing home residents. In response to a recent $4 billion dollar budget cut, a state legislature now threatens to turn back the clock. The minimum nursing home standards law, enacted in 2001, responded to growing reports of nursing home abuse, untreated bed and pressure sores, and cases of nursing home neglect. The legislators claim that removing the minimum care standards will provide more flexibility for nursing home operators; however, the most likely result will be lower standards in nursing home care.

Read the full story here.

Today great progress was made in advancing the rights of Illinois nursing home residents and their families. The good news comes in the form of House Bill #5213, which has the potential to improve nursing home care in Illinois by demanding accountability from Illinois nursing homes and long-term care facilities as a prerequisite to obtaining and retaining a license.

Currently, 20% of Illinois nursing homes don’t carry liability insurance. This means many Illinois nursing home residents who are abused and neglected in nursing homes cannot be compensated for injuries they suffer from a nursing home's wrongdoing. Furthermore, facilities are not even required to notify residents and their families that they are uninsured.

Today, the House Human Services committee passed HB 5213 sponsored by Representative David Miller. HB 5213 provides that no person may establish, operate, maintain, offer, or advertise a long-term care facility unless they provide the Department of Public Health with proof of liability insurance in an amount not less than $1 million. HB 5213 also reinstates a provision that was removed from the statutes in 1995 that provides that a licensee shall pay treble damages (the greater of three times the actual amount of damages or $500) in addition to costs and attorney's fees when the rights of a resident are violated.

Please join advocates for Illinois' elderly in our efforts to protect the rights of Illinois nursing home residents and their families and to hold Illinois nursing homes accountable for their wrongdoing. A copy of the bill's full text can be found here.

Please contact us if you have any questions at 312-332-2872.

Those who file an Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit will now be forced to submit the case to a mediator before moving on to trial. This new mediation mandate is part of an amendment to a new Illinois medical malpractice rule that was approved this week by the Illinois Supreme Court.

For the full article.

A bipartisan bill introduced by Republican Senator Grassley and Democratic Senator Kohl seeks massive reforms of the nursing home industry. The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act is being haled as the largest reform of the nursing home system in nearly 21 years.

One of the key provisions in the bill would require nursing homes to file paperwork clearly stating ownership. This is in response to a recent trend of private investment groups purchasing nursing homes and then enveloping them in a quagmire of procedures that effectively shield them from liability. These structures make it increasingly difficult to identify parties responsible for substandard care and shield owners from potential lawsuits. The bill also would standardize complaint forms, improve staff reporting, and replace some self-reported information with information from independent audits. The goal of these provisions is to increase transparency and assist the public in comparing nursing homes.

The bill largely affects for-profit nursing homes and is receiving support from not-for-profit facilities as they are already required to produce much of the same information to achieve tax exempt status. Ultimately, the bill is a much needed response to declining care in nursing homes stemming from vague ownership structures that make it increasingly difficult to hold inferior facilities accountable.

Full article:

Kane County, Illinois employs a prosecutor assigned mainly to cases of elder abuse including one of the most prevalent problems, financial abuse and exploitation. Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti has said that he hopes to improve community outreach as well and that elder abuse should be viewed like child abuse, where the very vulnerable can be taken advantage of. Illinois and US laws, however, seem to do much more to protect and advocate for children than for elders. Many elder abuse attorneys and advocates across the United States argue that elder abuse and nursing home abuse and neglect laws need to be stronger.

Click here for the full article

Illinois Citizens for Better Care (ICBC) reminds residents, family members and advocates that Illinois requires that all staff of health care facilities, including nursing homes, who "examine or treat .. a resident" to wear an i.d. badge with the employee's first name, "licensure status, if any," and staff position. The requirement applies both to employees and volunteers.

The requirement appears in the Medical Patient Rights Act.

Here is the text of the law, which can also be found here:

(410 ILCS 50/6)
Sec. 6. Identification badges. A health care facility licensed in
this State shall require each employee of or volunteer for the
facility, including a student, who examines or treats a patient or
resident of the facility to wear an identification badge that readily
discloses the first name, licensure status, if any, and staff position
of the person examining or treating the patient or resident.
(Source: P.A. 90-331, eff. 1-1-98.)

The Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act (CHAMP) has passed in the House this summer to renew the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). CHAMP provides new protections for Medicare beneficiaries and provides health insurance to 5 million uninsured children. Annual payment increases to Medicare skilled nursing facilities will be frozen for one year to help pay for expanded coverage. The freeze would have negative effects for 1.7 million nursing home residents and staff. The government has annually increased Medicare payments to nursing homes but continues to fail to improve quality standards. Some problems with this policy include undercompensation of nursing home staff (to the extent that many of them get health care coverage through Medicaid and SCHIP) and the fact that RN staffing is rapidly decreasing. As stated by the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform (NCCNHR):

Medicare reform would do more to ensure quality for residents than continuing to give facilities automatic annual increases. We are asking Congress to require nursing homes to report accurate staffing data, including the number of staff and what they spend on nursing; to establish a separate funding stream in Medicare for nursing costs that can't be transferred to profits; and to set minimum staffing standards for all facilities.

Please write or call your local Representative and ask him or her to support CHAMP
Email jwells@nccnhr.org with any questions

The Illinois Congress and Gov. Rod Blagojevich have enacted a law that helps to protect elder citizens of Illinois by requiring elder abuse services to be maintained 24/7. The Department on Aging runs a 24 hour hotline but situations of elder abuse are more often reported locally and those hotlines are often unavailable during nights and weekends. In southern Illinois, however, 13 counties represented by the Shawnee Alliance for Seniors have maintained round-the-clock access for almost two decades. The Shawnee Alliance helps elders with issues ranging from risk of physical harm to financial exploitation. The number of calls to the southern Illinois hotline have risen every year with 775 calls in 2006. In the southern Illinois region, 14% of each 1,000 residents have reported or been victims of elder abuse.

Click here for the full article

Elderly victims of abuse will have access to elder abuse services thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich last week. House Bill 734 was sponsored by state Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, and Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton. The bill is also supported by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the Illinois Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

Click here for the full article

In a new initiative to improve health care, Medicare will no longer pay hospital costs of treating illness, injuries or infections resulting from medical mistakes or negligence. By not paying the extra costs of treating preventable injuries or illness in hospitals, the lives of many patients and millions of dollars can be saved. Currently, Medicare pays for treatments resulting from medical malpractice and negligence. Private insurers are considering following Medicare's lead, which could greatly increase benefits and savings for patients and make insurance less expensive and more accessible.

Preventable conditions that will no longer be covered include bedsores, or pressure ulcers, injuries or death caused by falls and unnecessarily contracted infections. This will force doctors and hospitals to take more care in following policies and procedures to prevent these types of avoidable errors. Hospital advocates have tried to fight back, making claims that some injuries, such as pressure sores, are unavoidable. However, Levin & Perconti recently settled a case for $1 million in which a nursing home claimed that pressure sores were unavoidable. This theory proved false when the paraplegic patient was treated somewhere else and the pressure ulcers healed. This initiative is a federal recognition that many illnesses and injuries are caused by hospitals and doctors not following policies and procedures or meeting the standard of care. Because pressure ulcers are not covered by Medicare, for instance, the federal government is acknowledging that they are, in fact, avoidable and a result of negligence.

Click here for the full article

The governor of Illinois recently signed legislation that will require nursing homes to be equipped with air conditioning and heating in order to protect nursing home residents from extreme heat and cold. All bedrooms and common areas must be air conditioned and heated. The Illinois Department of Public Health is to monitor the plans for air conditioning and heating systems in nursing homes. The governor stated, "Illinois weather can be extreme. It's hard to imagine that senior citizens in nursing homes may not have something as fundamental as heat or air conditioning." It is hard to imagine that this law is even necessary in the first place. Lack of heating and air conditioning in such extreme weather can pose serious health risks and can be an example of nursing home abuse and neglect. Unfortunately, the rights of seniors are constantly overlooked. This law is an encouraging step in the right direction.

Click here for the full article