Illinois Nursing Homes Abuse

Coronavirus Concerns Grow For Illinois Nursing Homes

Published on: March 18, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Concern for Coronavirus Spread is Now a Sobering Reality for Illinois Nursing Homes

On Tuesday, March 15, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the first death from the new coronavirus in Illinois. The woman had close contact with another person infected with the virus. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) said she did have an underlying health condition but was not a resident of a nursing home facility. Although a total of 160 cases of COVID-19 have now been tracked in the state, including 22 cases at Willowbrook nursing home in DuPage County impacting 18 residents and four employees. Chicago’s WGN9 reported the first resident’s confirmed test over the weekend by state health officials. The resident is now in critical condition. The virus has since moved quickly to others at the Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, located in the 7000 block of South Madison Street in Willowbrook.

Fast-Changing Information About Coronavirus in Illinois (March 17, 2020)

Common Questions About Nursing Homes and Coronavirus

Published on: March 10, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

A message from Attorney Steven Levin

I have a loved one in a nursing home and I’m concerned about COVID-19 exposure. What should I do?

The first step is to call the director of nursing at your family member’s facility and ask about the steps they are taking to protect residents and staff. By this point, all facilities should have a written policy and action plan available for distribution. If your facility does not, request that they create it as soon as possible, and follow up until they do. Facilities should already be following longstanding CDC guidelines for infection prevention. Here are some questions that can guide your inquiry into whether they currently comply with the rules: https://www.cdc.gov/longtermcare/pdfs/factsheet-core-elements-10-infection-prevention-questions.pdf

Nursing Homes Already Have Infection Control Problems, Preventing Coronavirus Before It Spreads Will Be Another

Published on: March 9, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Nursing Homes Already Have Infection Control Problems, Preventing Coronavirus Before It Spreads Will Be Another
Although nursing homes are equipped with infection control recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and required to follow them by state and local health agencies – they simply are not. USA TODAY is reporting that “75% of U.S. nursing homes have been cited for failing to properly monitor and control infections in the last three years — a higher proportion than previously known.” These failures, often controlled by understaffed shifts, overworked caregivers, and less than 10% of facilities with infection-control specialty trained staff, all provide proof to predict that nursing homes are going to have even a tougher time preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Steven Levin, founding partner and attorney at Levin & Perconti, recently spoke to USA TODAY on the dangerous yet stagnant issue of the spread of infectious disease in nursing homes, remarking that, “The nursing homes that we deal with have extreme difficulty in handling everyday infections, and it’s an infection-rich environment.”

Read the USA TODAY article titled, Coronavirus a concern in nursing homes, where 75% have been cited for infection control errors, here.

Nursing Homes Must Do More to Protect Residents and Staff

Published on: March 9, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

A message from Attorney Steven Levin

By now it seems self-evident that the nursing homes and assisted living centers housing many of our elderly and most vulnerable citizens are uniquely susceptible to outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.

We know that the disease is particularly dangerous for older people. We understand intuitively that a site where older people — some of whom cycle in and out of hospitals, bringing germs back and forth — live in close quarters, with shared spaces and resources, faces heightened risk for infection and contagion.

Survey Shows Long-Term Caregivers are in Short Supply

Published on: March 9, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Survey Shows Long-Term Caregivers are in Short Supply
Over the next 20 years, the country will see a surge in the number of older adults who can no longer care for themselves, as will the number of persons diagnosed with dementia. A sizable amount of these two groups are likely to need long-term care services, one being the age 85 and older population — which is expected to double between 2025 and 2040. And a new report from our Midwest neighbors to the north is showing the most grimace future for an ongoing issue we have in Illinois as well. According to a new report based on a survey of long-term care providers in Wisconsin, vacancies for caregivers increased with nearly 1 in 4 openings going unfilled.

“In the future if there continues to be vacancy rates, there may be concerns down the road about the possible closure of some long-term care facilities,” said John Vander Meer, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Health Care Association and the Wisconsin Center for Assisted Living.

Summary of Long-Term Caregiver Survey Results

Poor Management Tied To Illinois Nursing Homes

Published on: March 5, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Iowa Nursing Home with Illinois Ties Added To Federal Watch List

An Iowa nursing home in Dallas County has joined other troubled homes on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Special Focus Facilities (SFF) list due to its established pattern of numerous, serious violations related to resident care. Rowley Memorial Masonic Home in Perry is responsible for 40 older residents. It is run by Health Dimensions Group, a Minnesota company that also manages nursing homes in Illinois and six other states.

Inspectors recently cited the Iowa home for:

Guide To Communicating With Dementia Residents

Published on: February 4, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Alzheimer’s and Dementia Residents Can Struggle with Communication

According to the latest Alzheimer’s Association report, an increase in those with declining cognitive abilities impact an estimated 230,000 people in Illinois, a number that is expected to rise nearly 13 percent by 2025. Dementia, a form of Alzheimer’s, is one of the only top-10 causes of death in the U.S. that cannot be prevented, cured, or slowed.

The majority of individuals diagnosed with dementia grow to rely on care provided by a nursing home to help manage their daily activities, medications, financial needs and assist them while residing in a safe environment. And as their dementia moves into later stages, help in communicating will also be required. The person may not be able to speak, or when they do, they may present lost in thought or provide confusing responses.

Illinois Nursing Home Chain Hit With Heavy Fines

Published on: January 30, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Aperion Care Racked Up $367,000 in Fines For 2019 Nursing Home Violations

In 2019, one Illinois nursing home chain, branded under the Aperion Care name, was fined nearly $367,000 by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) in response to failing to correct serious deficiencies in care and safety of its residents. Aperion Care has 35 Illinois facilities, the majority of which have only one-of-five-star ratings by Medicare.

Most recently, Aperion made a $6 million offer to take over Rock Island’s Hope Creek Care Center. But Aperion’s reputation and questionable level of care residents may receive has alarmed both community and county board members. With a quick review through the quarterly violation reports for Illinois nursing facilities, courtesy of IDPH, it easy to identify why these Aperion Care facilities are fined so often, and also validate the concerns of the Rock Island community.

111 Illinois Nursing Homes Breached Care Standards

Published on: January 27, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

More Than 100 Illinois Nursing Homes Named in Final Violators Report of 2019

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has released its final and Fourth Quarter Report of Nursing Home Violators for 2019 highlighting nursing homes that failed to comply with mandatory state regulations. This report dates October 2019 through December 2019. It highlights 111 Illinois facilities, an increase from 71 in the third quarter. The facilities were cited for various violations of the Nursing Home Care Act, a statute that provides nursing home residents and their families with the assurance that proper and safe care will be received.

Illinois facilities with violations in quarter four of 2019 include:

HUD Lender Buys Chicago Nursing Home Chain

Published on: January 23, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Troubled Rosewood Facilities Bought Up by For-Profit Lender

Greystone is the New York-based real estate, investment, and consulting firm set to take ownership over a chain of troubled Chicago-area elder care facilities currently branded under the name of Rosewood. The federal government has been in charge of Rosewood nursing homes after the previous owners defaulted on $146 million in mortgage loans, the largest default in the history of the government mortgage insurance program that provides financial support to 15 percent of the nation’s nursing homes. The previous owners, including Chicago-area rabbi, Zvi Feiner, were found guilty of improperly diverting millions of dollars in federally insured funds to other businesses and ultimately driving Rosewood into a financial crisis.

In December 2019, Greystone filed its licensing agreement with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). The group is a major lender to the nursing home industry with a $34 billion loan portfolio, making it the number-one HUD borrower in the country. Greystone also runs a group of nursing homes in Florida under the name Greystone Healthcare Management. Greystone will own and operate the facilities through a series of limited liability companies. A rebranding of the Rosewood home names is expected.