Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

More and more states are turning to legislation that would require sex offenders to notify nursing homes and their residents. The need for such legislation comes as nursing homes are accepting an increasing number of mentally handicapped patients, some of who are sex offenders. Specifically, the problem relates more to younger, mentally handicapped patients at nursing homes, not the elderly. However, as the level of care at nursing homes continues to decline, incidents of violent sexual behavior by residents continue to increase.

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Assisted living facility residents are increasingly in danger as incidents of assisted living facility abuse and misconduct by their fellow residents are more common. Recently, an assisted living facility saw two residents arrested in the same day. One resident was arrested for sexual abuse of an assisted living facility resident and the other was arrested for conspiring to sell drugs at the assisted living facility. Both residents have been removed from the facility, but neighbors and the town manager knew of multiple prior problems including failure to supervise residents and wandering.

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Former nursing home administrator has filed a lawsuit saying she was fired because she complained that the executive director’s 91 year-old father was sexually assaulting a demented nursing home residence. Her lawyer states that this is a classic whistleblower case where the administrator was fired for sticking up for a patient suffering nursing home sexual abuse.

According to the lawsuit, both the nursing home’s medical director and a licensed psychologist recommended that the 91 year-old be supervised 24 hours a day to monitor his behavior, but the executive director rejected the idea.

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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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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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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.

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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Reports of nursing home abuse and neglect in a Libertyville, Illinois facility have led to investigations by the Illinois Department of Public Health and local police. These investigations revealed that the staff at Winchester House, a Lake County facility, knew that a frequent visitor was abusing an 82-year-old woman in the Dementia Ward but allowed continued visits. The nursing home staff also neglected to alert their superiors or the woman's family of the abuse. The man pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

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Today, a man pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class Two felony which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, but with probation as an option, for fondling an 82-year old nursing home resident while she was a resident of Winchester House nursing home in Lake County, IL.

Nursing home abuse and neglect, in Illinois nursing homes is a prevalent problem with accounts of sexual abuse at nursing homes by visitors, other residents and staff members occurring with increasing frequency. To report an instance of nursing home abuse and neglect, call the Illinois Department of Public Health at 1-800-252-4343.

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A Belvidere, Illinois nursing home has been fined $25,000 by the Illinois Department of Public Health for the serious neglect of residents. Lack of supervision at the home has allowed one resident, a 94-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease, to sexually assault female residents on at least 15 different occasions. Staff had recorded these incidents and it was noted in the man's nursing home chart that he often attempted to inappropriately touch female residents. The nursing home failed to ensure the peace of mind and protection of residents even though they knew the man was a risk for inappropriate sexual behavior.

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In a recent conference, the Virginia Board of Nursing was asked to take action upon evidence that a nursing home CNA violated state laws regulating nurse aide practice. The nurse was employed at four nursing homes in recent years: Seven Hills, ManorCare, Ruxton, and the Lexington. She had been previously diagnosed of Impulse Control Disorder and personality disorder, but was not undergoing treatment, and had also been convicted of petty larceny. The nurse committed acts such as abusing residents, threatening to kill fellow employees, verbal abuse, talking to herself about killing people in the presence of residents and omitting previous nursing homes and her criminal record on her resume. It is shocking that there is no system in place to prevent nurses like these from circulating among nursing homes in the same area. With the prevalence of nursing home abuse and neglect, there should be stricter rules governing background checks on employees.

A hospice cat at a Rhode Island nursing home has predicted the death of patients in 25 cases by curling up with them in their final hours. The facility treats people with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's and other illnesses. A doctor that treats patients at the nursing home stated that, "Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there." This allows nurses to alert families when a loved one is about to die. Unfortunately, other nursing homes have to rely on the medical staff to predict when patients are showing signs that death might be imminent. But because nursing homes are understaffed, and nurses are often insufficiently trained, they cannot provide the same attention to the patients that this cat apparently can. Sorry to say, not all nursing homes can acquire a cat with such talents, and nursing staff simply does not have enough time to monitor patients and alert families when death is approaching.

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An alleged sexual assault at a ManorCare nursing home facility in Rolling Meadows, Illinois has led the state to claim that ManorCare failed to protect the woman from being abused. Nursing home abuse and neglect has been found by the Illinois Department of Public Health at many ManorCare facilities recently and the Rolling Meadows facility has already received a $20,000 fine from the department. In this particular instance, state officials said that a 71-year-old mentally disabled woman was sexually assaulted by a 62-year-old man with dementia in the middle of the afternoon. The investigation led to claims that the home failed to protect the victim and failed to supervise the assaulter, who had been caught inappropriately touching another woman's breasts only three months before. When an employee heard cries from the TV room where the woman was being assaulted, he was unable to get in and prevent further harm because the door was locked. It seems questionable that a nursing home facility with mentally disabled residents would have internal locks on community rooms. The state also alleges that the ManorCare facility failed to report the attack to police, a duty they should have undeniably upheld.

ManorCare facilities are becoming cesspools for abuse and neglect and action needs to be taken to prevent any other instances of sexual abuse in addition to other problems resulting from issues such as failure to supervise residents and failure to properly monitor patients.

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In Ohio, sheriffs are required to notify neighbors when sexual predators live near by and enforce laws prohibiting sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school. Nursing home residents are not exempt from these laws, but because the intent of the laws is to protect children and because elder abuse is an overlooked crisis in America, nursing home residents are forced, unknowingly, to live in homes shared with sex offenders and other criminals. With nursing home abuse and neglect being an important problem we face today, it is important to make sure loved ones are safe, protected and cared for- not at danger of sexual assault and misconduct. The Ohio state legislature is debating a bill that would require nursing homes to disclose the presence of sexual offenders to new or prospective patients. In one instance, a family placed an 18-year-old mentally retarded woman in a long term care facility but was unaware of the presence of sexual predators. Eventually, the home's failure to supervise residents convicted of sexual offenses allowed the woman to be raped by a sexual predator previously convicted of raping three women. It is going to be important, in the face of a growing elder population, to raise awareness of the many hazards of nursing home care.

Contacting elder advocates like ombudsmen and elder law attorneys can help send nursing homes the message that we are paying attention. They can not get away with underfunding homes, allowing for abuse and neglect, while the owners are pocketing excess cash. Contacting state agencies, advocates and elder law attorneys is the first step toward deterring nursing homes from continuing in their careless practices.

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A nursing home abuse and neglect law suit against a Texas nursing home was recently filed by the mother of a 28-year-old mentally disabled resident who was allegedly raped by a staff member. Following a positive rape kit test, nursing home administrators refused to allow the patient to return, while financially exploiting the mother by continuing to bill her for months. The lawsuit alleges that the nursing home tried to cover up this instance of abuse, but also tried to hide many other reports of abuse and neglect. The nursing home has been accused of "creating an atmosphere of oppression" by frequently yelling at and threatening residents, intimidating and punishing them by confining the residents to their rooms and taking away their phones, among other forms of punishment. The state had previously cited and fined the home for failure to report abuse incidents and failure to prevent seclusion and restraint from being used as punishment, behavior modification or staff convenience.

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The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined the Chicago based company that owns East Peoria Gardens Health Care Center $100,000 and the loss of five days of Medicaid reimbursement. Recent glaring cases of abuse and neglect, including the recent deaths of two patients, have led to one of the most severe penalties imposed by the Illinois Department of Public Health, short of shutdown. An 81-year-old woman died after a fall in the home, and a 72-year-old man choked to death. Other recent examples of such abuse and neglect include medical neglect and failure to notify physicians of condition changes in residents and the admittance of younger residents with criminal histories and mental illness. These residents were unsupervised and mixed with elderly patients receiving long-term care as the result of the nursing home's failure to provide appropriate programs and activities necessary to control those residents and assist in their return to the community. Further instances include dozens of calls to the police and fire department resulting from theft from residents' rooms, violent fights and threats. Three residents and two employees were arrested during this period. The Illinois Department of Public Health will begin to frequently monitor the home.

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A 60-year-old nursing home resident was recently charged with indecent assault and battery charges after he was found sexually assaulting disabled woman living at the facility. This is the second instance of sexual assault in recent years at Golden Living Center in Norwood, Massachusetts, formally known as Emerald Court. In the precious incident of nursing home abuse and neglect, a male resident and registered sex offender was caught sexually assaulting another male resident.

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