medicare

Brookdale Senior Living Sued For Violating Patient Discharge Laws

Published on: April 8, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

The Nation’s Largest Senior Living Operator Sued for Wrongfully Discharging Patients

California’s attorney general, Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer, and local officials are suing ten of Brookdale Senior Living Inc.’s California-based skilled nursing facilities. The suit alleges that the nation’s largest senior living home operator had misled consumers on quality ratings and broke laws intended to protect patients when they are discharged from a facility if their Medicare coverage ended. The company is also said to have failed in giving the 30-day notice of transfers or discharges as required for all U.S. skilled nursing facilities.

“Brookdale does this so it can fill its beds with residents who will bring in more money,” the lawsuit files read. It says the company will discharge patients “regardless of the care and treatment needs,” and that the company also failed to prepare patients to be released or transferred adequately, gave false information to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid that it uses to award quality ratings, and over-reported its nursing staffing hours to the feds.

25 Alarming Problems Illinois Nursing Homes Have

Published on: February 3, 2021 | Levin & Perconti

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2021 Justice in Aging Guide Identifies 25 Ongoing Nursing Home Problems

State-licensed elder care and rehabilitation centers in Illinois may include assisted living facilities, and residential or personal care homes. Unfortunately, hundreds of investigations into these facilities continue to reveal these 25 repetitive problems noted by the Justice in Aging. The organization’s newly published 2021 list points to issues related to relaxed oversight and understaffing workforces, preventable resident injuries, painful and unnecessary evictions, Medicaid complications, dangerous patient abuse and neglect, and irreversible tragedies for families.

Problem #1: Providing Less Care to Medicaid-eligible Residents

Inspections of Illinois’ Worst Nursing Homes Show Abuse & Neglect

Published on: September 30, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Nursing Homes Cited for Mistreatment Are Flagged with Special Icon on Government Website

In 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s (CMS) Five-Star Quality Rating System via The Nursing Home Compare website added a new tool to help better identify elder-care facilities with extreme and troublesome care failures. When visiting the site, the most troubled homes, many with only a one-star rating, also display a red circle with a white hand inside. The stop-sign-like icon can be used as a way to warn families of long-term care facilities currently in non-compliance and those with a documented struggle to meet Federal and state quality care measures.

These facilities meet the following criteria:

Nursing Home Staff and Residents Call 911 For COVID-19 Help

Published on: June 29, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Nursing Home Staff and Residents With COVID-19 Are Dialing 911 For Help

Reports from WGLT NPR show a COVID-19 outbreak at Bloomington Rehabilitation and Health Care Center had staff and nursing home residents calling 911 on numerous occasions, requesting for urgent help and resident transfers. The home is located at 925 S. Main St. in Bloomington. Illinois Department of Health coronavirus tracking reports show the facility is home to McLean County’s most significant COVID-19 outbreak to date. And the irony? Bloomington Rehabilitation and Health Care Center struggled to provide quality care and adequate staffing even before the virus hit, according to recent government inspections.

Medicare surveyor reports on the Nursing Home Compare website and IDPH inspection records show:

State Attorney Race Puts ManorCare Back In The News

Published on: March 18, 2020 | Levin & Perconti

Remember the Big Payout to Nursing Home Chain, HCR ManorCare?

The for-profit nursing home chain ManorCare went bankrupt with $7.1 billion in debt in 2018 over neglect and Medicare fraud allegations. The group operates about 15 facilities located throughout the Chicago area, primarily under the Heartland, ManorCare Health Services and Arden Courts brands. Prior to the bankruptcy, the chain was owned by the Carlyle Group, who bought the real estate in 2007 for $6.1 million. According to the Washington Post, the chain couldn’t make the $472 million a year rent payment, so instead, left its financial ruin to the takeover company, Quality Care Properties. Residents were found neglected, uncared for and living with painful bedsores and fall injuries, and without barely enough staff. An analysis of violation reports and records from the Illinois Department of Health shows:

Staff at a South Holland facility failed to prevent a woman from getting bedsores, and an infection led to her untimely death in 2010.

6 Problems Good and Bad Nursing Homes Have

Published on: December 30, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

Patient and Nurse Struggling

Good and Bad Nursing Homes Struggle with These 6 Issues

Certified skilled nursing facilities in Illinois are required to provide individualized care for residents. That is about 1,300 nursing homes responsible, both for-profit or not-for-profit, set to comply with about 1,500 state and federal standards. Yet violations related to abuse, safety and neglect as outlined by the Nursing Home Care Act occur each day, many undocumented or resolved. And unfortunately, trends in failing to comply can occur at both good and bad facilities.

The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Levin & Perconti continue to identify these six common issues leading to nursing home abuse and neglect cited at facilities located throughout Illinois.

Best Questions To Ask A Nursing Home

Published on: November 26, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

Levin Perconti - Questions to ask nursing homes

Updated Nursing Home Visit Checklist Can Help Prevent Neglect & Abuse

If your family is planning a tour of an Illinois nursing home facility, or you have a loved one who is currently a nursing home resident, and you are checking-in, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released an updated checklist to help identify any care concerns or suspicions of neglect and abuse of residents. Here are some key data points to consider discussing with administrators and care staff during your next visit.

Facility Type

Illinois Nursing Homes Flagged Harmful

Published on: November 26, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

Levin Perconti - horrified senior citizens

Government Site Has New Way of Warning Families of Nursing Home Mistreatment and Neglect

The nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys at Levin & Perconti keep close eyes on how the federal government is using Nursing Home Compare, a website used by the public to search and compare facilities nationwide. In October, it was announced by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that the site has started flagging nursing homes with a history of resident mistreatment.

In a special report published by The Washington Post on November 19, 2019, the new flagging system which uses a red circle with a white hand inside, showcases as many as one in 20 elder-care facilities across the U.S. responsible for resident abuse or neglect. The data comes from government investigators’ reports which identified evidence related to the harm or potential harm of a resident.