Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

Elder financial abuse and fraud is one of the most common types of abuse and neglect inflicted upon senior citizens. New evidence has shown that aging of the brain, and not gullibility, loneliness or intelligence, can make elders vulnerable to financial exploitation. A recent University of Iowa study has shown that medical or neurological problems in the brains of the elderly can lead to an increased vulnerability to financial abuse and fraud. A significant percentage of elderly participants in a study showed disproportionate signs of aging in the brain region responsible for decision-making. It is important to protect elders from financial abuse and fraud because they may not be able to do it themselves.

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Steven M. Levin and Michael F. Bonamarte of the Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti recently filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit against Lincoln Home in Belleville, Illinois in the Circuit Court of Cook County on behalf of a man who was neglected at the nursing home. Lincoln Home assessed the 72-year-old resident upon his admittance to the facility and noted in his Plan of Care that he was at risk for falls and wandering.

Based on the nursing home staff's negligence and lack of supervision, the resident was allowed to wander off from the facility on multiple occasions and also sustain a fall that broke his hip and required surgery. Hospital staff noticed that the resident had developed two bed sores: one on his coccyx and one on his heel. The pressure sores developed because the nursing home staff failed to change the resident's clothes allowing him to lay in his own waste for long periods of time. The resident lost 30 pounds while at the facility, but after being moved to a different nursing home he regained his strength and positive outlook. Unfortunately, he has been unable to fully recover from his fall and is living out his remaining days in Hospice care.

Chicago area nursing home Evergreen Park has suspended an employee who has been accused of the sexual abuse of a 53-year-old resident of the facility. Chicago police arrived at the nursing home after being alerted that the nursing home assistant was found kissing a disabled patient on the cheek, as discovered by a fellow nurse. Police arrested the man and he has been charged with misdemeanor battery.

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Suspicions at Woodstock Residence, a McHenry County, Illinois nursing home, have spurred an investigation of whether morphine overdoses contributed to the deaths of six elderly residents of the facility. Whether the claim of nursing home abuse is founded is yet to be seen, as tests are still being performed on the exhumed bodies of three of the victims and the investigation by the Illinois State Police continues. Witnesses have been questioned, but not indicted, by a grand jury in this claim of a very serious medication error. If the results of the testing are not conclusive, the grand jury could call for a deeper investigation into the case. The causes of death listed for the three dead residents are pneumonia, coronary disease and heart disease. The other three possible victims were cremated and their bodies cannot be used in the investigation.

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After reports of nursing home abuse and neglect, the nursing home East Peoria Gardens Health Care Center has been heavily fined by the Illinois Department of Public Health and its director's administrator's license has been suspended by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The director left her job when the IDPH investigations began after the deaths of two patients caused by the nursing home's negligence, the admittance of patients with criminal pasts, and complaints of an atmosphere that caused fear among staff and residents. Attorney Steven M. Levin of Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti filed a lawsuit against the home on behalf of the family of a resident who fell at the home last spring, sustaining a serious head injury ultimately leading to death. Another resident choked and died as a result of the nursing home's negligence. These cases of nursing home abuse and neglect resulted in a $100,000 fine by the IDPH and other severe penalties. Its investigation found 23 nursing home code violations

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Steven M. Levin and Jordan S. Powell from Levin & Perconti filed a nursing home negligence lawsuit on behalf of Stephen Maurice Crawford. Mr. Crawford was a resident of Halsted Terrace beginning in July, 2006. He required care and treatment that his family was unable to provide. Mr. Crawford suffered from a nuerological condition called transverse myelitis which essentially caused him to be paralyzed from the kidneys down. It was known to Halsted Terrace that Mr. Crawford required maximum assistance with all activities of daily living to ensure he was receiving proper hydration, nourishment and administration of medication. Due to his paralysis, the facility was also aware that Mr. Crawford was at risk for developing new bed sores and had orders in place to properly treat the existing sores on his body.

Despite this knowledge, Halsted Terrace allowed Stephen to become severally malnourished, dehydrated, and he developed several new sores during his stay at Halsted Terrace. This nursing home neglect required Stephen to undergo several hospitalizations and suffering prior to his death on May 25, 2007. At that time, Stephen Crawford was only 66 years old and left behind four loving children who were actively involved in his care. A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Stephen’s children.

The lawsuit alleges that Halsted Terrace violated several provisions of the Nursing Home Care Act, OBRA regulations and sections of the Illinois Administrative Code. Also of significance is that the Illinois Department of Public Health cited the facility for neglect and improper nursing care.

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At the North Shore Senior Center in Northfield, Illinois, Steve Levin spoke to a group of senior citizens on the dangers of Illinois nursing home abuse and neglect. Addressing the Men's Club at the Center, Steve advised the seniors to take care in choosing the right nursing home. Specifically, Steve recommends investigating whether the home is frequently cited by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), visiting the home to see what is actually going on there, and inquiring of the home whether they have any liability insurance.

Steve also recommended reporting nursing home abuse and neglect to the IDPH and contacting a nursing home lawyer if you suspect a loved one is being abused and neglected.

Knowing which nursing homes are bad can be valuable information for a family seeking long-term care for an elderly loved one but concerned about issues like nursing home abuse and neglect. Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the names of 54 nursing homes that had ranked as one of the worst in their state. Proper administration of medication to patients, appropriate assistance with activities of daily life and concern for the prevention of malnutrition and dehydration are examples of what inspectors look for in nursing homes. Inspectors also look for signs of nursing home abuse and neglect such as failure to maintain resident safety and prevent accidents, such as falls, infections, bed sores and other problems elderly people are susceptible to.

The list published by CMS containing the names of 54 nursing homes is actually a sample of 128 "special focus facilities", or homes that were identified as in need of more oversight. CMS says that the rest of the facilities were not identified because during the six months after being titled a "focus facility" they showed improvement. Democratic legislators, however, are demanding that all of the names be released in order to protect nursing home residents. Most nursing homes have around 6-7 deficiencies identified during inspection, but the ones on the list had twice as many or more. Unfortunately, no national standard has been set for the investigations so each state has its own parameters. An Illinois nursing home can be considered in terrible condition, but would not qualify in another state. A bill was recently introduced in the legislature to make it mandatory for CMS to publish all of the names, but the issue of discrepancies between states' standards is an issue that should be addressed by congress.

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A caregiver in Sugar Grove, Illinois has recently been charged with financial exploitation of an elderly person and is currently in the Kane County Jail. He was found stealing from his elderly client, an 83-year-old man, after cashing 12 checks at a bank in Sugar Grove. Financial abuse is the most commonly reported form of elder abuse and neglect.

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There are many different forms of elder abuse and neglect and it is important to watch for signs of abuse in order to protect loved ones. Anyone over age 60 can be a victim of elder abuse. Elder abuse and neglect comes in many forms:

-Physical abuse
-Emotional abuse includes verbal assaults, threats, intimidation and harassment
-Confinement is restricting an elderly person without their consent. Many believe that restraining seniors with Alzheimer's or other illnesses should be restrained in order to prevent wandering off. This is illegal and there are better alternatives
-Passive neglect is when a loved one, caregiver, nursing home or assisted living facility is unable to provide a senior with the care they need. This can include failing to provide medication at appropriate times, causing malnutrition or dehydration by forgetting meals, allowing falls due to lack of supervision, allowing bed sores to develop as a result of neglect, failing to monitor the hygiene of the elderly person and more.
-Financial exploitation is the misuse of a senior's money, accounts, insurance, etc. It is the most commonly reported form of elder abuse. Many different types of people can exploit elders financially including family members, caregivers and employees of nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
-Sexual abuse is any type of sexual act or conduct performed against the elderly person's will.

If you are aware of elder abuse or suspect that a senior is being abused, call the Illinois elder abuse hotline at (866) 800-1409. It is available 24 hours a day.

A new study by Americas Watchdog's Corporate Whistleblower Center shows that "things have never been worse" in the realm of Medicare & Medicaid fraud. All aspects of health care are included (click here to read more) but nursing homes make up a large portion of fraudulent behavior, magnifying the problem of nursing home neglect. Long term care facilities, nursing homes, and rehab centers have proven to be a huge drain on the American taxpayers based on fraudulent conduct. In the nursing home field, there is a mandatory minimum amount of hours that must be spent caring for each patient, each day. However, less than 50% of patients are getting the required amount of care. In addition to fraud, nursing home neglect is a serious problem and American tax dollars are paying for it! The Whistleblower center states that, "senior citizens are dying in US nursing homes, because they are in many cases not getting anything close to mandatory time/hours per day in care." Unnecessary testing of patients has also proven to be a problem of fraudulent behavior. An estimated 35% of all testing performed in nursing homes, mainly in areas like speech or cognitive testing for instance, is necessary.

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A new law passed recently makes nursing home and hospital patients with a risk of falling safer. The law acknowledges problems with the handling and care of patients. Many lawsuits each year are brought on behalf of patients who are injured because the higher level of care they required when being transported or lifted was not met. Patients that are at risk are those at facilities that, either because of neglectful practices, staffing issues or lack of appropriate equipment, are unable to provide the care needed. The new law requires health care facilities to purchase equipment designed to aid in the lifting and handling of patients, such as mechanical lifts, as well as solving many issues relating to nursing home and hospital staff. The New Jersey law makes it mandatory for health care workers to be properly trained and also require that there are enough staff members on hand to be able to meet the needs of patients requiring lifting or transportation. Also important is the protection workers are given from being penalized by employers for refusing to handle a patient because of a concern for the patient's or their own safety and wellbeing. Many times, patients require multiple staff members in a patient handling procedure and when there are not enough workers available to help, the resulting safety risks are unacceptable. Hopefully other states, including Illinois, will follow suit.

Two sisters living in Geneva, Illinois have been indicted in the death of their 84-year-old mother on two counts each of criminal neglect of an elderly person, reported the Kane County Chronicle. Paramedics responded to a 911 call and discovered a scene typical of elder abuse and neglect in the home; the woman was found covered in ants, urine and feces which caused a sickening stench.The prosecuting attorney presented the jury with photos of the woman's condition and the coroner's report, which noted that bladder cancer, neglect, malnourishment and dehydration contributed to the development of pneumonia, ultimately causing the woman's death.

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Heritage Manor Nursing Home in Colfax, Illinois lost a legal battle in a lawsuit where a former employee was awarded $17,000 after reporting sexual assault of an older resident. The whistleblower claims that she was fired after she reported suspicions that sexual abuse of an elderly resident of Heritage Manor was being ignored. The former employee, and widowed mother of nine, was awarded $10,000 in pain and suffering. Heritage Manor, a company based in Bloomington, has been sued in other nursing home abuse and neglect cases.

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Twenty years ago, Congress passed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) and it is now time to review its successes and failures in order to improve the quality of nursing home care. OBRA regulates inadequate nursing homes by either shutting them down or allowing well-performing nursing home care providers to take over substandard facilities. However, the system in place requires that those who take over failing homes must be responsible for the liabilities that the previous management had incurred, including fines, penalties and deadlines to correct certain problems, including issues regarding nursing home abuse and neglect. Because the new management must take on these liabilities there are less resources to dedicate to improvement of the quality of care. The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) has strongly urged congress to pass legislation regarding "the counterproductive nurse aide training lock-out, the need for joint training of nursing home and surveyor staff, allowing states to demonstrate alternative quality assurance systems, facilitating new ownership for chronic problem homes, and using civil money funds to improve nursing home quality."

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Chicago nursing home attorneys Steven M. Levin and Michael F. Bonamarte will be featured speakers at the Andrews Nursing Home Litigation Conference this February in Sanibel Island, Florida.

Steven M. Levin, Founding Partner at Chicago-based Levin & Perconti is the Co-Chair and moderator of the conference. Mi