Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog

The National Center on Elder Abuse has put together a very useful set of charts and information about various state laws governing adult protective services. This resource is especially useful for attorneys who practice in nursing home abuse and neglect or handle other legal matters for nursing home residents who may need to consider state resources for clients who may lack capacity. This information is also helpful for families who may not have sufficient resources to take care of all of their elder's needs and need to seek assistance from the state. Additionally, some nursing home residents without active family members may come under state care if they are no longer able to participate in their care or are suffering from a condition that impairs their abilities sufficiently.

See the charts here.

The Weill Cornell Medical School, part of Cornell University, has received a grant to study the feasibility of opening a center on elder abuse. The center, if established, will study ways to educate doctors on identifying and responding to signs of nursing home abuse and neglect. According to a professor, elder abuse and neglect and nursing home abuse and neglect can result in overwhelming feelings of fear, anger, isolation, depression and can even shorten life. Older Americans will soon increase exponentially, making programs that highlight nursing home abuse and neglect even more important for proper health care.

Read the press release here.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has joined the fight against fraud in home health care by exposing a large Medicare fraud led by a major home health care corporation. The corporation provides in-home nursing services. In-home nursing service abuse is a growing problem and is often harder to identify than nursing home abuse and neglect. In this case, the home health care corporation coordinated with corrupt health care aide training programs to certify prospective health care aides without ensuring that the prospective aides took required training courses. This incident raises questions about the quality and safety of in home nursing care and should give family members and home care customers pause for thought.

Read the full story here.

A nursing home employee has been arrested and charged with theft of medications from nursing home residents. The employee apparently switched prescription pain relievers with over the counter pain relievers and then gave the wrong medication to the nursing home residents. This case shows another example of how medication mixing, giving the wrong medication, and prescription drug theft are more and more common in nursing homes. Family and patient advocates should be sure to check with their loved ones in nursing homes to make sure the resident feels like their medication is working and should also watch how medication is administered.

See the news story here.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For the full article.

Recently, lawmakers debated whether or not to limit damages on nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits. Families of victims of nursing home abuse and neglect traveled to Capitol Hill to voice their opposition against a bill that would limit damages from nursing home abuse lawsuits. The bill would have placed a $300,000 cap on any lawsuit involving death or injury at a nursing home

For the full article.

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" »

Steven Levin of Levin & Perconti will represent Virginia Cole’s surviving family members in a nursing home abuse and wrongful death lawsuit. Virginia Cole was one of the victims at Woodstock Residences, the Chicago-area nursing home at the center of a pending criminal trial.

Two former nursing home employees of Woodstock Residences were charged in McHenry County with causing the deaths of four residents at the nursing home. The charges include criminal neglect of the nursing home residents and overmedicating patients with morphine.

At a press conference on Monday with the victim’s son in law, Steven Levin commented on the role of nurse Marty Himebaugh at Woodstock Residences: “The director of nurses at the facility -- and this is a quote from the indictment -- was encouraging Marty Himebaugh to act in a role of angel of death.” Mr. Levin will file suit in the Circuit Court of Cook County shortly.

To read the original article and see video, please click here.

State health authorities have fined a California nursing home $100,000 in the death of a 91 year old resident who choked on food. The “AA citation” is the most severe penalty for nursing home abuse under state codes. The state assessed the fine for failing to find out what was wrong with the patient while he was choking, not providing emergency care, and failing to use procedures such as the Heimlich maneuver to try to save the resident.

For the full article.

A recent nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuit was settled just days before the trial was set to begin. The lawsuit charged that the nursing home resident suffered fractures, infections, bruises, skin tears, and verbal abuse during his stay at the facility.

For the full article.

A recent Kaiser Report examined the rush of media following the Bush administration proposed changes for Medicaid could affect states. Florida journalists argue that the funding reductions will hit nursing homes in particular because Medicare does not pay for extended nursing home care. Oklahoma experts state that the Medicaid changes would eliminate tens of millions of dollars in appropriations for each state. One chance narrows a field of state workers paid by Medicaid who assist developmentally disabled residents.

These laws must be carefully scrutinized for their effects on the nursing home community. If nursing homes are not properly funded, there are not enough nurses to care for the residents. Then - nursing home abuse and neglect inevitably results.

For the full article.

A wrongful death lawsuit was recently filed against a nursing home where a 76 year-old’s pressure ulcers were left untreated until it ultimately caused his death. The family of the nursing home abuse and neglect victim said that the nursing home stopped giving her father physical therapy, which would have prevented the bedsore. Then, the bedsore went untreated for months.

For the full article.

Due to the neglect of facility staff, boxing legend Joe Louis's sister was found frozen to death just outside of the assisted-living center where she was a resident. The 92-year-old resident suffered from Alzheimer's disease, an illness often causing patients to wander, requiring constant supervision. The woman had been missing for a full day when she was found just outside of the facility dressed only in her pajamas and one shoe. She died of hypothermia and there was no indication of an intentional crime, but this tragedy could have easily been prevented had staff been less neglectful and if they had provided the care that was promised to the woman's loved ones. This kind of nursing home abuse and neglect is not just limited to poorly-run state facilities or similar homes. Even the family members of this country's legends, such as the great Joe Louis, are at risk.

Click here for the full article

Atria Senior Living is a chain of nursing homes with 130 facilities across the country. The nursing home chain is owned by Lazard Ltd, a corporation that has just given its CEO Bruce Wasserstein a new contract where he will be paid over $41 million for 2007 and over $100 million overall. The staff at Atria Senior Living homes nationwide is underpaid and overworked, just like many assisted living facilities across the country. Employees have reported that the average salary is about $8-10 an hour and that the company-provided healthcare plans are too costly to afford. Nursing home abuse and neglect is a widespread problem in the US and many of these issues are due to understaffing, inadequately trained staff or overworked employees. Nursing homes owned by private equity firms, like Atria Senior Living homes, have even worse statistics. These firms often claim that it is financially too difficult to afford more staff, proper training, or better hours but the case of Mr. Wasserstein is a perfect example of these firms valuing their profits over the wellbeing of residents and employees. The family members of Atria residents are also left perplexed as their loved ones are being neglected and hoping for better care while money that could be used to improve standards of care is going to make millionaires even richer.