understaffing

What Are The Worst Nursing Homes In Illinois?

Published on: June 13, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

nursing home abuse and neglect

CMS Will Publicly Post All Names of Most Concerning Care Facilities

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is reacting to the highly publicized release of U.S. Senators Bob Casey’s (D-PA) and Pat Toomey’s (R-PA) report titled, Families’ and Residents’ Rights to Know: Uncovering Poor Care in America’s Nursing Homes, by announcing it will soon disclose all of the names of care facility candidates in the agency’s Special Focus Facility (SFF) program. SFFs have a “persistent record of poor care” and were previously not available for the public to review. Some lawmakers and resident advocates even called the list a “scary secret” kept from the public to protect nursing home owners and their reputations.

The Pennsylvania lawmakers list included only 400+ facilities, 22 of which are located throughout Illinois, but there are almost 3,000 nursing homes that have a one-star rating on their health inspections, the worst ranking possible. With only 88 SFF program slots funded that likely leaves so many additional poor performing candidates for the program to publicly acknowledge.

Falls Quickly Decline Health of Nursing Home Residents

Published on: June 13, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

nursing home neglect

Falls Remain Leading Cause of Injury-Related Deaths for Older Adults and Understaffed Nursing Homes Could Be to Blame

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among persons aged 65 years and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the age-adjusted rate of deaths from falls is increasing as well. Ironically, as many as 75 percent of nursing facility residents are reported falling each year and carry twice the chances of falling compared to a senior who lives in their own home or community.

For elderly patients living in care facilities, hazards that contribute to fall injuries can include:

Federal Law Protects Home Care Worker Wages

Published on: May 15, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

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Underpaid At-Home Caregivers File Lawsuit Against Employer

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is reporting a story coming out of the U.S. District Court in Little Rock concerning underpaid caregivers who have filed a lawsuit against Palco, a financial management services company headquartered in Arkansas that provides support to Medicaid recipients across several states. The business has clients such as veterans, the elderly, and children who participate in at-home and community-based services and require help with daily living tasks. The suit is seeking class-action status on behalf of all people who were paid as caregivers by the company under the Independent Choices Medicaid program within the past three years.

According to the state Department of Human Services, Independent Choices assist about 3,000 Medicaid recipients who receive in-home services in processing payroll and guides recipients in paying workers who help them, most of who are often family or friends. The lawsuit says the plaintiffs and other workers have regularly worked more than 40 hours a week and weren’t paid one-and-a-half times their regular wage by their employer as required under the Fair Labors Standards Act (FLSA). Medicaid recipients are only the employer if they hired the home care worker directly, and no agency or other organization is involved, such as Palco.

Nursing Home Responsible For Choking Death Sues Family

Published on: April 28, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

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Nursing Home Countersues Although Liability Accepted for Man’s Choking Death

In 2013, an 82-year-old man died from a preventable choking incident at Woodhaven Care Center in New York. The nursing home accepted liability for the man’s death, and a jury awarded $1 million to the man’s family highlighting the issues with understaffing. The wrongful death lawsuit stated that inattentive nursing home staff failed to provide the man with his dentures and fed him food that was not a part of his dietary plan. The man was then left unsupervised, choked on the meal and died within moments after a nurse’s station video camera caught the incident. Staff also waited nearly 20 minutes before calling for help and dialing 911.

Today, Woodhaven has outrageously presented a countersuit against the family of the deceased for alleged money yet owed for his stay. Our nursing home abuse and neglect attorneys plan to follow this story as mediation in the case will be scheduled in the future.

When Nursing Homes Turn Deadly

Published on: April 22, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

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Nursing Home Associated with Large, For-Profit Network Sued After Woman Suffered and Died

News of a recent lawsuit against Three Mile Curve Operations LLC, dba Logan Center, Genesis Healthcare LLC a nursing home in Logan Center, West Virginia alleges that poor care provided at the facility caused a woman who required rehabilitative services and assistance with day-to-day tasks to suffer from neglect related injuries and eventually die.

According to a March 25^th report in the West Virginia Record, an incident took place on April 12, 2018, which triggered the untimely death of Ms. Lilian Messer soon after being admitted to the facility.

Concerns For Nursing Home Residents Who Are Sedentary

Published on: April 16, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

nursing home patients

Majority of Nursing Home Residents Spend Their Time Inactive, Increasing Chances for Chronic Diseases and Injuries

Too many individuals who reside in nursing home facilities are spending their days – sitting. A typical daily schedule for residents will only include light to moderate intensity activities 20 percent of the time and they will remain sedentary the other 80 percent, according to a February 16, 2019 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. An extremely sedentary lifestyle, especially for those who are already battling health issues, only creates a stronger connection to the development or progression of chronic diseases and disabling conditions such as:

Anxiety

Can Nursing Homes Superbugs Be Washed Away?

Published on: April 8, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

nursing home illness

Illinois Nursing Homes Testing Antimicrobial Wash to Avert Superbug Infections

Elderly people are an extremely vulnerable group of individuals, some with an already weakened immune system and underlying illnesses. And for those older individuals residing in nursing home facilities, many sharing community spaces housing millions of drug-resistant bacteria also known as superbugs, the risk is even worse. Superbugs are viral infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to common antibiotics and can cause severe infections that are extremely difficult to treat.

That is why some nursing homes in Illinois have started washing patients with a special chlorhexidine soap. The soap is being tested as a way to prevent antibiotic-resistant superbugs that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say infect at least 2 million people in the U.S. each year and kill 23,000 more. The trial effort is happening in 50 nursing homes in Illinois and California and being funded by $8 million federal dollars.

What Happens To The Residents When A Nursing Home Closes?

Published on: April 3, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

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McClean County Nursing Home Residents Transferred After LeRoy Manor Closes

The former long-term care residents of the LeRoy Manor building, located in the central Illinois community of Bloomington-Normal, have moved to other nursing homes throughout Illinois. The private nursing home closed on February 15, 2019, displacing 75 employees and 66 residents. Administrators say about 90 percent of the residents were receiving Medicaid and poor reimbursement by the state was to blame for the closure. The group announced plans to end long-term care services at the home in January of 2019.

Thankfully, regional ombudsman from the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging told local news outlets that residents and their family members felt individual rights and desires were protected during the transition and that staff saw the process out appropriately. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and many residents preparing for a move out of their control will find themselves neglected or abused during a time of uncertainty and when changing staffing challenges become present. The move may be tough though for many of the LeRoy Manor residents who were originally from the area and able to stay connected with family and friends on a regular basis. These are relationships important when addressing basic care and medical needs and identifying nursing home neglect and abuse symptoms of loved ones.

What You Should Know About Nursing Home Bed Sores

Published on: March 11, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

nursing home neglect

The Most Important Way to Reduce Complications from Pressure Ulcers Is by Preventing Them

A pressure ulcer, also known as a bed sore, a pressure sore or a decubitus ulcer, may not appear serious at first. The open wound often begins with small red marks on areas of the skin that are in continuous contact with surfaces such as bed linens. Sadly, they are one of most common and preventable injuries that occur in nursing homes and can actually serve as a serious warning signal of nursing home neglect. The sore will almost always make itself known but when the discovery of it gets to this stage it can be a sad situation for any family member to be informed of. By this time, the sore has usually broken down so much skin that the underlying tissue, sometimes bone, is now exposed. These injuries are sure to reveal a larger scope of care issues impacting your loved one’s health. When not taken care of or treated with the medical attention required, pressure sores can lead to severe infection, a general decline in overall health, unnecessary emotional anguish and painful discomfort, and even death.

Questions to Ask If Your Loved One Has a Pressure Ulcer

As Worker Wages Increase Nursing Home Care Improves

Published on: March 1, 2019 | Levin & Perconti

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Underpaid Caretakers Cheer as Illinois Law Pushes Through Minimum Wage Increase Plan

Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Ill.) is already making good on campaign promises. The new Governor recently positioned Illinois to join several other states in signing a law raising minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, the 81 percent increase will allow Illinois workers to see a minimum wage increase from $8.25 to $9.25 an hour. In July, minimum wage will increase to $10. Each year after that, minimum wage will increase by $1 until 2025, when it reaches $15 per hour.

The news has been well received by both caregiver home health workers and nursing home employees. For decades, the nursing home and home health care industry has remained notorious for clouding care standards with weak, ineffective, and downright lousy wages resulting in extra strains put on overworked employees. Most nursing homes actually have fewer nurses and leading medical staff than they report, leaving underqualified and stressed nursing assistants and personal aides with the 24-hour tasks to keep far too many patients’ dietary, hygiene, medication, and daily living needs met.