December 12, 2009

Nursing Home Residents Allowed to go to Home for the Day

The Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc is releasing news the news that residents of skilled nursing facilities can leave their facility to attend a family holiday celebration without losing their Medicare coverage. The policy recognizes that although most beneficiaries are unable to leave their facility an outside pass or short leave is not by itself evidence that the individual no longer needs to be in a skilled nursing facility for the receipt of required skill care. If a facility tries to tell you that a short leave will result in the loss of Medicare coverage, please inform them that this notification is not appropriate. If the resident returns to the facility by midnight, the facility can bill Medicare for the day’s stay. This will make for enjoyable holidays for our elderly citizens.

To view the entire flyer, please click here.

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Posted In: Residents and Family Members, Knowing your rights

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October 4, 2009

How to Decide Whether a Nursing Home is the Right Fit

The LA Times has come up with a helpful list for determining which nursing home is the right one to place your loved one. They believe that by asking the facility certain questions you will be able to determine if it is a safe place. First ask whether the care meets the need of your family member such as personalizing rooms with photographs and other items. Next ask whether the facility has adequate fire and safety systems which are up to date. It is important that a facility has a wanderer alert to ensure that disoriented residents do not leave. There should be few policies on physical and chemical restraints. It is important to research whether the nursing home has a history of pressure ulcers. The Medicare website is helpful in determining which nursing home is right for you. To read more about nursing home advice, please click the link.

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Posted In: Residents and Family Members, How to choose a home, Knowing your rights

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August 24, 2009

Study Shows Fault with Nursing Home Admission Agreements

The move to a nursing home is a stressful, anxious time for not only the resident but their family as well. That is why so many people find themselves signing nursing home contracts without properly reviewing them. However, the document is not one of routine and many admission agreements are harmful and have provisions that violate the law. The federal Nursing Home Reform Law provides many protections for residents and families, and if the residents are aware, they can take action to obtain the quality of care that residents deserve. The nursing home legislation provides that nursing homes must provide necessary care in as homelike an environment as possible. A resident’s preferences should be followed whenever practicable. A recent nursing home study has shown that admission agreements often contain provisions that conflict with the law and are not fair to residents or their families. The study found six problems with admission agreements:
 The agreement lowers standard of care, and accepts certain injuries as almost inevitable. However the Nursing Home Reform Act requires a nursing home to provide care necessary for a resident to reach “the highest practicable level of functioning.”
 The agreement limits the resident’s right to receive visits from family. However, a nursing home resident has the right to be visited by a family member at any time of the day or night.
 The agreement waives or limits the nursing home’s responsibility. It is never in a resident’s interests to waive or reduce any responsibility.
 The agreement requires arbitration of disputes or claims. However, a jury generally is better than an arbitrator in understanding a resident’s point of view. Therefore you should never give up the right to a jury trial.
 The agreement authorizes eviction for improper reasons. The Nursing Home Reform Law specifically requires a nursing home to provide appropriate care for resident with dementia and eviction is allowed for only six specified reasons.
 The agreement requires resident’s family member or friend to become financially liable for nursing home expenses. The Nursing Home Reform Law prohibits a nursing home from requiring anyone to become financially responsible for a resident’s nursing home expenses.
To read more about the nursing home advice, please click the link.

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Posted In: Residents and Family Members, Knowing your rights, Useful publications

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June 30, 2009

New Requirements Look to Improve Quality of Life for Nursing Home Residents

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently released a new set of requirements that focus on improving the quality of life for nursing home residents. According to the CMS Acting Administrator Charlene Frizzera, “The improvements in the guidance are intended to support efforts underway to transform nursing homes into environments that are more like their homes through both environmental changes and resident-centered caregiving.” The new guidance focuses heavily on creating a welcoming environment that centers upon the individual nursing home residents’ needs. It also gives residents choices in activities, grooming, eating and bedtimes. To read more about the new CMS requirements, follow the link.

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Posted In: Knowing your rights, National Nursing Home News

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February 12, 2009

House Bill Will Protect Nursing Home Residents

A bill was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives that will help put an end to unfair mandatory arbitration agreements. The bill, introduced by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), would put an end to pre-dispute arbitration agreements that nursing home residents and their family members are often forced to sign when completing nursing home contracts. When signed, the agreement waives their rights to have a jury decide the case. For nursing home residents and their families, this bill will protect their right to take their case to court in the event that they become the victim of injury or death as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect.

Victims of nursing home abuse and neglect fare better when given the opportunity to plead their case in front of a jury. A trial by jury provides a public record of wrongful conduct and alerts fellow residents and their families of the nursing home’s misconduct. It also ensures compensation for victims when a home does not follow through on the promises they make to care for their residents. Additionally, jury trials send a message to wrong-doers that misconduct will not be tolerated and will not go unpunished, helping to deter others from these practices.

Follow the link to read more about how this bill would protect nursing home residents.

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Posted In: Knowing your rights, Legislation, Mandatory Binding Arbitration, National Nursing Home News

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January 13, 2009

CMS Puts Pressure on Nursing Homes to Prevent Bed Sores

CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has published new guidelines regarding pressure sores (decubitus ulcers). SNFs (Skilled Nursing Facilities), like nursing homes and long-term care facilities, are commonly cited for elder abuse and neglect. Often this nursing home abuse and neglect can result in the development of pressure ulcers on elderly patients. The new regulations specify that “a resident who enters [a] facility without pressure sores does not develop pressure sores unless the individual’s clinical condition demonstrates that they were unavoidable.” With attentive care, pressure ulcers are usually preventable. Therefore, all nursing homes under the Medicare/Medicaid program will receive amplified attention from State Surveyors with the goal of zero tolerance for bed sores. This will put an increased burden on nursing homes and facilities to treat and prevent decubitus ulcers, which are often concurrent with elder abuse and neglect. For the full article, click here.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, Government Reports, Knowing your rights, National Nursing Home News, Pressure Ulcers

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January 12, 2009

It is a Nursing Home's Responsibility to Prevent Most Falls

Elder abuse and neglect is widespread in today’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The failure to prevent falls among the elderly is one of the most common examples of negligence in nursing homes. Many of the falls that cause death or serious injury among elderly nursing home patients are, in fact, preventable. Patients should be evaluated on neurological status, debilitating diseases, drug status, mental state, sensory deficits, history of falls, and age. If they are deemed at any risk for falls, homes and facilities should take extra precaution to prevent injury. An at-risk patient should be escorted to the bathroom or frequently offered the use of a bedpan, for instance. Failure to supervise elderly at-risk patients could result in falls with serious consequences. Every elderly patient is entitled to proper and attentive care, and the prevention of falls is a responsibility of every nursing home and health care facility.

Click here for more information

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Failure to supervise, Incidents, Knowing your rights, Medical Conditions

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December 4, 2008

Elder Abuse Awareness Promoted by Famous Actor

Elder abuse occurs not only within bad nursing homes nationwide but also due to negligent care givers. Elder abuse is a concept the nation should be aware of as the aging population is on the rise. Elder abuse can be prevented with awareness, preventive measures and most importantly love. If you or someone you know has experienced elder abuse or elder neglect that has resulted in death, serious injury or financial injury you may want to contact an elder abuse attorney. As our nation becomes more aware of the problem even famous actors have been willing to promote the need for awareness. To see an announcement against abuse please watch the video below. Levin & Perconti is not responsible for the content and manufacture of this video; this video was obtained via YouTube.


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Posted In: Community Involvement, Knowing your rights, Video/Illustrations

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July 29, 2008

Levin & Perconti Files Elder Abuse Lawsuit Against Abington at Glenview

Levin & Perconti has filed a nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit in Cook County on behalf of Michael Tadelman’s daughter and guardian under the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act. The suit was filed on July 22, 2008.

Mr. Tadelman suffered multiple falls while in residency at Abington of Glenview. As a result, he had special designation as a fall risk and the nursing home was required to monitor him closely. Abington of Glenview and its staff failed to care for his needs properly: he suffered multiple falls during his residency.

Read the entire press release here.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Chicago Nursing Homes, Incidents, Knowing your rights, Nursing Home Abuse

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June 20, 2008

A Family Puts a Face on the Nursing Home Arbitration Clause Issue

Many nursing homes require residents or their families to sign arbitration clauses, whereby they sign away their right to bring suit in court for any abuse or neglect by the nursing home. A Senate committee is currently investigating the issue and heard from the family of William Kurth on Wednesday. Kurth fractured his hip and leg and received numerous pressure ulcers while living out his final months in a nursing home. His family attempted to sue for negligence, but the case was dismissed on account of his wife having signed an arbitration clause when her husband was admitted. Arbitration clauses benefit nursing homes because of their speed, cost, and, most notably, their confidentiality. The problem, however, is that most families are not thinking about suing a home when they admit their family member or loved one into the nursing home. Kurth’s wife, for example, was distressed about her husband’s recent stroke and overall condition and was, herself, taking medication when she agreed to arbitration. The Kurth family attorney called that day one of the most stressful in her life, and states that she would not have signed those papers if she knew what she was giving up: the right to a trial by jury. Kurth’s children allege that their father got infections because excrement and urine were left on his bed sores without being cleaned for multiple days in a row. While there is mounting support for banning arbitration clauses for nursing homes, the issue is still hotly contested and far from decided.

Read more here.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, National Nursing Homes, Knowing your rights, Legislation, National Nursing Home News, Pressure Ulcers

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May 6, 2008

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Releases its Action Plan for Nursing Home Improvement

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

Read the full action plan here.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, Knowing your rights, National Nursing Home News, Useful publications, Useful publications

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April 21, 2008

Nursing Home Lobbyists Want to Limit Nursing Home Residents’ Access to the Justice System

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.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Knowing your rights, Legislation, Legislation

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April 18, 2008

Husband’s Vigilance Ensures Quality Nursing Home Care for Wife

A recent article on a Santa Barbara man provides an excellent example for Illinois families with loved ones in nursing homes. The man’s wife is confined to a nursing home facility because her MS is advanced. Her husband has become her most important advocate and lifeline, maintaining constant contact with the nursing home facility, providing oversight of the staff’s care, and often butting heads with the nursing home’s management to prevent nursing home abuse and neglect.

This story highlights how difficult family roles become when a loved one requires constant care. In this case, the man’s role changed quickly from being his wife’s primary advocate to assisting with her daily care, to taking on the nursing home management to fight for his wife’s rights to be free from nursing home abuse and neglect. Families should remember that they are not alone: Illinois has a nursing home ombudsmen program designed to help advocate for nursing home residents. Nursing home abuse and neglect lawyers can often achieve results that families may not be able to, especially when their loved one has suffered nursing home abuse and neglect.

For the complete story, click here.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Residents and Family Members, Ombudsmen and Resident Advocates, Family Councils, How to choose a home, Knowing your rights

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March 12, 2008

Illinois Nursing Home Bill will help compensate victims of nursing home abuse and neglect

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.

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Posted In: Elder Law Attorneys News, Knowing your rights, Legislation, Legislation, Long Term Care Insurance, Ombudsman and Resident Advocates News, Residents and staff beware: If you sue or are sued, no insurance coverage

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February 7, 2008

Quincy, Illinois elder services officer investigates abuse and protects elderly

The police department of Quincy, Illinois has a well-established Senior and Family Resource Center that has recently appointed a new elder services officer, Detective Tom Liesen. Elder abuse and neglect, home repair fraud, and financial exploitation of elders are some of the areas that Detective Liesen investigates. He has been trained in elder services and regularly attends elder rights conferences. Liesen also visits nursing homes to speak with residents and staff and has investigated cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. He said, "When you see the pictures of bedsores, it's shocking. It's sad because you realize that one little bit of care could have prevented that." Detective Liesen provides a much needed service to his community and has set an example for other Illinois communities to follow. Protecting the elderly should be a priority in every town and city.

Click here for the full article

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Posted In: Ombudsmen and Resident Advocates, Community Involvement, Financial abuse and exploitation, Knowing your rights, Ombudsman and Resident Advocates News

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January 13, 2008

Be aware of the many types of elder abuse and neglect to help keep seniors safe

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.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Residents and Family Members, Nursing Home Staff, Chicago Nursing Homes, Community Involvement, Failure to supervise, How to tell if your nursing home is bad, Incidents, Knowing your rights, Medicaid and Medicare Fraud, Nursing Home Abuse, Pressure Ulcers, Sex offenders and parolees in nursing homes

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November 14, 2007

Scope of who can be held responsible for elder financial abuse and exploitation is growing

Financial abuse is commonly targeted at senior citizens. Seminars are one way the elderly can be convinced that they need financial products they do not. Estate planning is one example of an avenue used to dupe elderly attendees. Whether senior centers that hold these sales presentations can be held responsible has been questioned in California. There, facilities that allow financial elder abuse to occur can fall in the sphere of responsibility. A senior center could be named co-defendant in a financial lawsuit. A class action lawsuit filed by California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform & the Institute on Aging claims that some companies acquired information about seniors' finances through seminars and sent agents to their homes to sell financial products. It is now being questioned whether facilities that housed those seminars could also be implicated. Some senior centers in California have been warned to screen presenters in order to prevent being held responsible for financial elder abuse and exploitation.

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Posted In: Hot Button Issues, Community Involvement, Knowing your rights

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October 30, 2007

Alden care cited in another failure to maintain patient's health and safety

Steven M. Levin of Chicago law firm Levin & Perconti has filed another lawsuit against an Alden care center, Alden Long Grove Rehabilitation & Health Care Center, alleging that Alden failed to obey the Nursing Home Care Act and that the negligence of the staff at the facility resulted in the plaintiff's wrongful death. The family of the patient, a man who experienced severe weight loss at the facility, had taken action in alerting Alden staff and filing a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The IDPH investigation detected an inadequacy; the facility failed to implement a plan of care for the man's rapid weight loss. The patient lost an astounding 23 pounds between May and July of 2006.

In 2007, Alden Long Grove has been investigated 7 times by the IDPH. Alden care centers all over the Chicago-land area have been investigated 40 times. Levin & Perconti has filed numerous nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits against multiple Alden care centers around Illinois.


Click here for the full article

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, Residents and Family Members, Alden Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect, Chicago Nursing Homes, Incidents, Knowing your rights, Nursing Home Abuse, Nursing Home Care Act (NHCA)

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September 12, 2007

Nursing home employees in Illinois must wear ID badges

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.)

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Posted In: Knowing your rights, Legislation, Nursing Home Staff News, Ombudsman and Resident Advocates News

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September 11, 2007

Human rights of seniors in question

A new report from the UK, the Human Rights of Older People in Healthcare, has recently put forth new information regarding abuse of the elderly, specifically in nursing homes and other types of care facilities and hospitals. Politicians on the Joint Select Committee on Human Rights have announced that legal and cultural changes must be made in the UK in order to prevent further abuse. The study found that a startling amount of older people in care homes and hospitals experienced abuse, sexual abuse and assault, physical and verbal abuse, dehydration, malnutrition and neglect. Over a fifth (21%) of long term care facilities were found to be failing to meet minimum standards of privacy and dignity. It was strongly suggested that healthcare staff receive regular and targeted training in human rights and its application in long term care and assistance. Unfortunately, even proper general job training in these facilities regarding simple policies and procedures is scarce. Also suggested is an integration of inspection, regulation and complaints processes for elderly health and social care along with an overall national strategy to improve services for dementia patients and the elderly population. The importance of this study is difficult to exaggerate. The Department of Health now has a platform to work off of and will be strongly encouraged to act based on the claims of the report.

Click here to read the report

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Posted In: Government Reports, Knowing your rights, National Nursing Home News

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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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