Experienced Leader in Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Law, Steven Levin Raises Continued Concern for Covid Long-Term Care Failures

Published on: July 22, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

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As coronavirus continues to sweep through the Nation, it leaves a trail of death and despair in its wake — hitting particularly hard throughout the Nation’s nursing home communities. According to a special report from the New York Times, almost one-third of all overall COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are linked to nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

However, the numbers are much worse in Illinois. According to IDPH and the Illinois National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (INEDSS):

The first case of COVID-19 in an Illinois long-term care facility was diagnosed on March 11, and a large outbreak ensued.

Ex-Nursing Home Worker Speaks Up Amid Foster Health Abuse And Neglect News

Published on: July 7, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

Chicago North Side Nursing Home Facing Heavy Accusations of Neglect and Abuse

News reports and interviews with a former Foster Health and Rehabilitation employee reveal just how terrible conditions and resident treatment are at the North Side nursing home. Just days before, reports and a shocking video of abuse shook residents and family members after a 69-year-old man was found neglected and injured at the nursing home, located at 840 W. Foster Avenue in Chicago.

The former employee, Annette Zegarra, recently worked as an office manager for Foster Health and Rehabilitation Center. Zegarra told WGN9 news she knows the abused resident, now identified by family as James Crowder. Mr. Crowder is also a military veteran. A video shows he was found naked on the floor by another resident’s family member visiting the rehabilitation center. In a video, Crowder appeared confused, with a bloody gash on his head and disabled by an injured foot.

Illinois Nursing Home Deaths Reach Horrific Numbers

Published on: December 28, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

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State Data Shows Illinois Nursing Home Residents Are Dying at Most Alarming Rate Yet

In the most recent data released by Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) officials, the state’s nursing-home residents are contracting COVID-19 and dying from it at their highest reported rates yet. Over the past week (December 11-18), public health regulators have recorded 605 deaths among residents of long-term care facilities, assisted-living centers, state-funded veterans’ homes, and other nursing home care sites. The previous highest mortality (and record-setting) death rate was for the first week in December when IDPH logged 480 fatalities among residents within the same groups of facilities.

The new data brings the COVID-19 death toll for Illinois nursing-home residents since the pandemic began in March to a staggering 7,559 or just over 50% of total Illinois fatalities due to the coronavirus, according to a Levin & Perconti nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer analysis of IDPH data.

Chicago’s Woodbridge Nursing Pavilion: COVID-19 Summary

Published on: June 21, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Woodbridge Nursing Pavilion releases COVID-19 statistics showing 219 COVID infections and 32 deaths. Levin & Perconti, Illinois nursing home lawyers launch investigation into gross negligence in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

On June 6, 2020, Woodbridge Nursing Pavilion, located in Chicago, IL, released long term care outbreak data reporting of laboratory confirmed COVID-19 outbreak cases. These statics confirm that 219 infections and 32 deaths have occurred at the facility during the COVID-19 outbreak.

News Article

Elevate Care Chicago North: COVID-19 Summary

Published on: June 6, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Elevate Care Chicago North releases COVID-19 statistics showing 171 COVID infections and 29 deaths. Levin & Perconti, Illinois nursing home lawyers launch investigation into gross negligence in preventing the spread of COVID-19

On May 29, 2020, Elevate Care Chicago North, located in Chicago, IL, released long term care outbreak data reporting of laboratory confirmed COVID-19 outbreak cases. These statics confirm that 171 infections and 29 deaths have occurred at the facility during the COVID-19 outbreak.

News Article

Nursing Homes Can Help Residents Cope During COVID-19 Lockdown

Published on: April 7, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

The quick spread of coronavirus and strict isolation measures overtaking U.S. nursing homes has created a stressful time for not only nursing home care staff but all nursing home residents. Many of these residents are battling health conditions, living away from family, and now restricted from visitors and isolated in their rooms, or have been moved into different areas of the facility where they can no longer socialize with others. An individuals’ moral, as well as the types of mental health care resources available in nursing homes, are important considerations to take seriously during these ongoing disruptions.

In the midst of the pandemic, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News performed a survey requesting feedback from nursing home administrators and nursing directors on how they are working to “keep spirits up” during the lockdown and what types of extra attention directed toward residents is being provided.

Protecting Our Loved Ones in Nursing Homes During the Coronavirus Outbreak

Published on: March 18, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

A message from Attorney Steven Levin

Nursing home residents are at the center of a perfect storm: starkly vulnerable to the novel coronavirus, which has proven particularly deadly to the elderly, and cut off from those who can most effectively speak up to protect them.

As experienced advocates for patients in long term care and their families, our firm is ready to help you ensure that your loved ones stay safe and healthy.

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

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.”

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.