Illinois Nursing Homes Abuse

Illinois Dept. of Health Continues COVID-19 Reporting

Published on: May 29, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Public Health Officials Quickly Reverse New COVID-19 Reporting Method for Nursing Homes After Outcry from Families

On Friday, May 22, officials from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) introduced a new COVID-19 reporting system in hopes to curb new COVID-19 outbreaks. But the new method was quickly dismissed after backlash was received from long-term care advocates and family members of residents who say they need more consistent information on facilities to decide whether it is safe for their loved ones. The new reporting system was only to involve data on long-term care facilities with at least one new case in the past 28 days versus providing an overall risk measurement for all facilities in Illinois.

IDPH then decided to continue with original reporting methods that include logging all homes with cases on the IDPH website, including those that are not currently experiencing an outbreak. The Illinois Department of Health (IDPH) has a map of the state’s long-term care facilities in Illinois with cases of COVID-19 among residents and staff on its website. The numbers are provisional, and the list is updated weekly to show lab-confirmed cases and cases meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC) outbreak case definition. Visit the IDPH website here and scroll down to locate the county in which the facility you are looking.

10 Questions For Nursing Home Residents in Quarantine

Published on: May 28, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

10 Questions to Ask Your Loved One Quarantined in a Nursing Home

Many family members remain profoundly concerned about how their loved ones are doing while being confined to their nursing homes, without regular visitors and routine inspections to keep up on safeguards to ensure their care is not failing. While this is not an easy time for anyone and distancing remains the most critical measure when dealing with nursing home residents, there may be small things you can do to ease any anxiety or identify the warning signs that something may not be right. The next time you speak with your family member or friend who is a resident, be sure to ask these questions.

What do you know about coronavirus or COVID-19?

Suit Filed Against Illinois Nursing Home With More Than 200 COVID-19 Cases

Published on: May 27, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Town of Cicero Sues City View Multicare Center for Lack of Coronavirus-Related Infection Control Measures

On May 1, the Town of Cicero filed a scathing complaint against City View Multicare Center, LLC, the State of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), and Governor JB Pritzker, in his official capacity. The complaint came after Cicero officials and essential workers became aware of a “troubling uptick in illness at City View” along with concerning conditions at City View that started nearly two months prior to the pandemic. According to town reports, the complaint timeline for a series of dangerous coronavirus related events impacting the community goes as follows.

March 30:

Ambassador Nursing & Rehab Center: COVID-19 Summary

Published on: May 26, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Ambassador Nursing & Rehab Center releases COVID-19 statistics showing 101 COVID infections and 9 deaths. Levin & Perconti, Illinois nursing home lawyers launch investigation into gross negligence in preventing the spread of COVID-19

On May 15, 2020, Ambassador Nursing & Rehab Center, located in Chicago, Illinois, released long term care outbreak data reporting of laboratory confirmed COVID-19 outbreak cases. These statics confirm that 101 infections and 9 deaths have occurred at the facility during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Quarterly Violations

Nursing Homes Do Not Have The Right To Residents’ Stimulus Checks

Published on: May 25, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Some Nursing Homes Are Taking Residents’ Stimulus Checks

The IRS began making stimulus payments on April 15, 2020. And for nursing home or assisted living facility residents on Medicaid, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has had to raise the alarm after several facilities have requested residents to sign checks over to keep their Medicaid benefits going. These facilities have no right to claim residents’ stimulus checks.

FTC’s Elder Justice Coordinator Lois Greisman says that facilities cannot request or take the funds, which are considered tax credits per the CARES Act. Those tax credits don’t count as “resources” for federal benefit programs like Medicaid, so the government cannot claim them, and neither can the nursing homes.

Glenview Terrace COVID-19 Deaths On The Rise

Published on: May 22, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Glenview Terrace Continues Jump in COVID-19 Deaths of Residents

About a third of all COVID-19 deaths in Illinois have now been linked to long-term care facilities, and to make matters worse, cases are also doubling, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). A rehabilitation facility in Glenview is the latest to report more than two dozen COVID-19 deaths. Glenview Terrace is a 314-bed facility, located at 1511 Greenwood Road in Cook County. It has now reached 75 outbreak cases of the novel coronavirus and 25 deaths.

Glenview’s Administrator Allen Hollander told the Chicago Tribune that the people who died had first become sick in late March. Hollander also explained that more than 20 infected staff could have contracted the disease outside of the facility.

How To Identify Elder Financial Abuse

Published on: May 6, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Finding Out If Someone Is Stealing Your Loved One’s Money

The Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans has reported nearly $1.7 billion worth of suspicious activities, including actual losses and attempts to steal older adults’ funds. Unfortunately, the elderly, especially nursing home residents, are easy victims of financial abuse. And officials say these occurrences likely only represent a small fraction of elder financial abuse incidences. Family members or someone the victim may know, such as a long-term care facility worker, are too often the guilty party in these cases.

Financial losses are almost always more significant when the older adult knows the suspect. In 2017, the average loss per person was about $50,000 when the older adult knew the suspect and $17,000 when the suspect was a stranger. This is because residents may be very trusting to their caregivers and family members. In addition, the National Council on Aging estimates that more than 20 percent of nursing home residents are victims of financial abuse, and residents who suffer from memory disorders such as dementia are taken advantage of more often. These patients have trusting behaviors and cognitive disabilities, making them highly susceptible to the exploitation or mismanagement of their personal funds.

Illinois Department of Health Provides Map Highlighting COVID-19 Cases at Nursing Homes

Published on: May 1, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

The Illinois Department of Health (IDPH) has made a map of the state’s long-term care facilities in Illinois with cases of COVID-19 among residents and staff public. The numbers are provisional, and the list is updated weekly to show lab-confirmed cases and cases meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC) outbreak case definition.

While facility administrators have been instructed to restrict visits, cancel group activities, shut down dining rooms and screen residents and staff for fevers and respiratory disease symptoms, we encourage family members of residents who reside in an Illinois long-term care facility to visit this map often to help understand the growing risk COVID-19 may present to their loved ones.

Visit the IDPH website here and scroll down to locate the county in which the facility you are looking for is in.

Why You Shouldn’t Sign a Nursing Home Arbitration Agreement

Published on: April 28, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Many long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living centers, will request forced arbitration agreements to be signed before a resident has been admitted. And as one of the country’s leading nursing home and abuse law firms, the attorneys at Levin & Perconti believe that these agreements only make it more difficult for residents to seek justice in the case of them being harmed, injured, or neglected.

Forced pre-dispute arbitration:

takes advantage of vulnerable long-term care consumers

Levin & Perconti Promotes Attorney Andrew Thut to Partnership

Published on: April 16, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Levin & Perconti Promotes Attorney Andrew Thut to Partnership
Firm’s Partnership Expands to Eight Members With Work Continuing Even as Lawyers, Staff “Stay at Home”

Levin & Perconti is proud to welcome Andrew J. (“A.J.”) Thut as the firm’s newest partner.

Thut has been with the firm since 201 and earned his law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. A.J. has successfully settled and tried to verdict a variety of cases, including a $2.77 million jury verdict in a nursing home fall case.