nursing home news

Guilty Nursing Homes Hide Behind Forced Arbitration Practices

Published on: September 26, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

Arbitration Agreement

FAIR Act Bill Has Passed the House, Now Headed to the Senate

On Friday, September 20, lawmakers in the House voted 225-186 to pass the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, introduced by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), with the help of many supporters who look to hold long-term care doers responsible for abuse and neglect. The bill is designed to end forced pre-dispute arbitration in contracts between consumers and corporations, including nursing homes, long-term care centers and assisted living communities.

Moving ahead, the FAIR Act could:

Nursing Home Arbitration Contracts Hide Poor Care

Published on: September 19, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

nursing home vote

Lawmakers Will Soon Vote on the FAIR Act to Stop Forced Arbitration

Americans have the right of a jury trial unless forced to agree otherwise in the form of an arbitrary clause contractually. These agreements have found their way into all of our employment, consumer, franchise and even medical contracts. Once used as a tool for businesses to solve their disputes, forced arbitration has become a greedy and ruthless tactic, dangerous to consumers.

Just this week, the full House of Representatives is set to vote on the FAIR Act, H.R. 1423. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA), is vital to all American consumers as no one should be forced to agree pre-dispute to allow third-party arbitrators decide on a judgment rightfully meant for a public trial. The bill has 222 cosponsors including several Representatives from Illinois.

Chaplain Pleads Guilty To Sexual Abuse Charges

Published on: September 11, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

nursing home abuse

Nursing Home Chaplain Agrees to Guilty Plea Deal in Sex Abuse Case

The Good Samaritan Home of Quincy is a place for residents to live independently but also provides environments for assisted living, skilled nursing care, rehabilitation, and dementia care. On Thursday, August 29, a former chaplain of the home James E. Riley, appeared in court to waive his right to a jury trial after a case was opened accusing him of sexually abusing two residents of the nursing home. The victims are ages 88 and 78, and the assaults are said to have happened at the Good Samaritan Home, located at 2130 Harrison Street in Quincy, Illinois, in May of this year.

A negotiated plea of guilty and sentencing hearing is expected to include two counts of criminal sexual abuse, one count of criminal sexual assault, and one count of predatory criminal sexual assault through the use of force.

List of Illinois Nursing Homes That Violate Safety and Rights Of Residents

Published on: August 27, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

quarterly violator report

Illinois Nursing Homes Named in Second Quarter Violators Report By IDPH

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has released its second Quarterly Report of Nursing Home Violators for 2019. This report dates April 2019 thru June 2019 and highlights 113 Illinois facilities cited for 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.

Facilities with violations in quarter two of 2019 include:

Sexual Assault Reported At Illinois Nursing Home

Published on: August 27, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

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Aperion Care Fined After Dementia Resident Was Sexually Assaulted

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has fined an Aperion Care nursing home in Jacksonville $25,000 for an alleged resident-to-resident sexual assault. According to the state agency’s report of Illinois nursing home violators, an investigation found the facility to have failed at adequately assessing and identifying sexual vulnerability and resident-to-resident abuse.

Here is what was found through IDPH’s report:

Nursing Home Abuse Is Alarmingly On The Rise

Published on: August 27, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

nursing home abuse and neglect

Senators Blame Government Regulating Office for Growing Number of Nursing Home Deficiencies

On Tuesday, July 23, bi-partisan members of the Senate Finance Committee, led by ranking committee member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), once again raised alarming concerns over the rising amount of physical, verbal, mental and sexual abuse incidences occurring inside U.S. nursing homes. In addition, and not for the first time this year, confusion regarding the current lack of oversight role the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is playing, and funding needs to support sufficient resident-to-staff ratios were recognized and discussed at great length.

Several lawmakers referenced a same-day released report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that found:

Investigative Reporting Uncovers Problems With Nursing Home Ownership

Published on: July 26, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

poor elder care

Nursing Home Chain Failures Highlight a Greater Need for Ownership Regulation and Closer Government Review

Some of the most troubling elder abuse and neglect stories stemmed from nursing home private ownership in the U.S. recently emerged thanks to an NBC News investigation featuring a man named Joseph Schwartz and his responsibilities over nursing home and long-term care facility chain, Skyline Healthcare. The mogul swiftly built his empire out of a small New Jersey office and then across the Midwest. It failed miserably leaving life-long pain and suffering for more 7,000 elderly Americans in more than 100 facilities in 11 states.

Massachusetts: Schwartz told staff there was no more money to fund all of his nursing homes or to pay them. The care team was buying toilet paper with personal funds to help residents. Patients were left for days in their feces due to staffing cuts and no one to help them. When some of the homes closed, 60 residents had nowhere to go, and family members were left uninformed of their loved one’s displacement. In March of 2019, the final three former Skyline Healthcare nursing homes in Massachusetts were closed and placed in receivership after Schwartz agreed to surrender licenses.

Illinois Nursing Home Worker Arrested For Misconduct

Published on: July 25, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

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Nursing Home Resident Physically Harmed by CNA in Freeport

Freeport Police arrested a former certified nursing assistant (CNA) at an Illinois nursing home in Stephenson County after being accused of attacking an elderly resident earlier this year. The 34-year-old aid with a history of being employed by nursing homes is charged with official misconduct and aggravated battery to a senior citizen.

Detectives say the worker, identified as James Spann, put the 73-year-old resident in a chokehold and a headlock while working at Walnut Acres. Walnut Acres is formerly known as the Stephenson County Nursing Center, located at 2946 S. Walnut Rd. in Freeport.

Understaffing Remains Problem For Illinois Nursing Homes

Published on: July 17, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

understaffing legislation

Slammed with a New Law and Bigger Fines, Will Illinois’ Nursing Homes Finally Start Providing Enough Care for Residents?

In June 2019, Illinois lawmakers, sparked by a bill sponsored by state Sen. Jacqueline Collins, D-Chicago, passed legislation in support of increasing fines and penalties for nursing homes who are not meeting minimum standards for staffing and also provided $240 million to fill a $649 million projected funding gap between the state and federal government. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services will receive $70 million of the newly budgeted state dollars to build-up nurse staffing. The bill also demands better communication between family members of loved ones who reside in nursing homes so they can be informed of staffing challenges that may interrupt or delay the level of care expected.

Several groups and elder organizations supported, endorsed, and pushed the legislation including:

Nursing Homes Are Not Reporting Abuse

Published on: July 10, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

nursing home abuse whistleblower

Skilled Nursing Facility Employees Can Report Abuse and Neglect

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) reviewed potential abuse and neglect claims of more than 34,820 Medicare beneficiaries who were residing in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in 2016 and sent to the emergency room. The OIG released its findings in June of 2019 concluding that about one in five potential cases of abuse of elders or neglect were never reported to state inspection agencies, even though it’s a federal requirement for them to do so.

Here is a closer look at what the OIG report had to say: