If you have an aging relative in Chicago, IL, you may be evaluating whether or not they are capable of caring for themselves on their own. For many families, it is not an easy decision to put a loved one into nursing home care in Illinois. It's a disruptive process that can take away your family member's privacy and independence; however, when they are incapable of taking care of themselves, you will want to ensure they get the round-the-clock care they need.
What makes it even more difficult to face the decision of putting your relative into a nursing home is that nursing home neglect and abuse are common in Illinois and across the country. 844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers is a nursing home abuse law firm in Illinois committed to holding these facilities accountable for their actions.
Trying to find quality nursing home care in Illinois may feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack, especially since 73% of nursing homes had violations. We're sharing the top-rated nursing homes as well as the worst nursing homes in Illinois, and why you will want to talk to a nursing home abuse attorney in Illinois if you suspect that your loved one is not getting proper care.
Understanding Nursing Home Quality in Illinois
When looking at the quality of a nursing center, Illinois nursing homes need more consideration than how many stars they are rated on the internet. Illinois nursing homes are regulated by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Along with this Illinois department, the long-term care ombudsman provides additional support to ensure that every facility upholds quality standards.
When you search for a nursing home for your loved one, it is critical to look deeper into the metrics that are used to evaluate them. These include staff-to-patient ratios, safety, cleanliness, recreational and social activities, and staff turnover rate, among many others. Looking deeper into these facilities can help you avoid choosing one of Illinois' worst nursing homes and allow your loved one to thrive in their golden years.
Kinds of Illinois Nursing Homes
Before evaluating the best and worst nursing homes in Illinois, you should think about what kind of facility would be best.
Skilled Nursing Facilities
A skilled nursing facility is ideal if your loved one needs only short-term care. This nursing care and therapy is provided by licensed healthcare professionals.
Intermediate Care
Intermediate care facilities may be ideal when your relative needs a little help for basic daily tasks as well as some nursing needs.
Assisted Living
Your loved one may not have a need for full nursing home facilities, and assisted living could fit their needs. This type of center focuses on providing assistive care for certain activities.
There are also facilities for veterans, lower income elderly and disabled residents, and even independent living facilities that are for healthy seniors which provide 24-hour staff on site. Knowing the type of healthcare center that your loved one needs is the first step. The next step is looking at nursing home ratings and digging even deeper to find the right one you can trust to care for your family member.
Regulation and Inspection of Nursing Homes in Illinois
The Illinois Department of Public Health is also responsible for licensing, regulating, and conducting inspections of all nursing homes in Illinois. Inspections are mandatory, and violations result in citations for the facilities. Still, it is a daunting task, as the elderly population is growing, and evaluating Illinois nursing homes, following up on complaints, and keeping this vulnerable age group safe is a huge undertaking.
While the state has a job to do, families should remain vigilant and involved in the care of their relatives. If you think something isn't right or abuse is happening, your loved one has rights. Contact 844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers to speak with one of our attorneys and get the legal support you need.
Worst Nursing Homes
The lowest-rated nursing homes have high numbers of complaints, and while many of them have been cited for violations, a number of the worst nursing homes have not. Some involve failing health inspections and health code violations, while others have abused their residents.
You should avoid Aperion Care, Abbington Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Elevate Care Country Club Hill, Accolade Healthcare of East Peoria, Warren Barr South Loop, and Alden Estates. There are many others you should be aware of, but rather than simply reading this list, we encourage you to look into every nursing rehabilitation center and facility using the tips further below to help you find a good one.
Best Nursing Homes
Not all of Illinois' nursing homes are rampant with abuse and neglect. We want to highlight more than just Illinois' worst nursing homes and list some of the nursing facilities that earned their best nursing home ratings.
Apostolic Christian Home of Eureka, a long-term care facility, features staff that has been part of the team for years, providing quality resident care and strong staffing levels per resident. The Long-Term Care Living Center at Hammond-Henry District Hospital is another one, and happens to be Medicare-certified. It's a small center that focuses on providing quality resident care.
Those who need short-term nursing rehab centers should consider Alden Estates of Skokie, ideal as a nursing rehabilitation center for residents who need neurological, orthopedic, or cardiac rehab. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital is another nursing rehabilitation center that tops the list of the best, providing ample room for family members to stay overnight with their loved ones.
How to Choose a Nursing Home That Provides Quality Health Care to Nursing Home Residents
When looking for a senior health care center that will provide the right setting for your loved one, you may be wondering how you can avoid making a mistake. While your family member may have a dire need for this care, you should never rush through the process. Here is what you should consider when searching for the best care center.
Research and Compare Nursing Homes
When you've determined whether your loved one needs a skilled nursing facility, a rehab center, or another type of health care center, start comparing apples to apples. You will want to look at reviews from others online as well as what the state has noted in its inspections. Steer clear of places that have failed health inspections or have been cited with serious violations for harming nursing home residents.
Take a Look at the Nursing Homes In Person
Next, once you've found nursing homes that don't have health code violations, arrange for tours of each facility. Be observant and see if the facility is well-cared for and clean, and absent of unpleasant odors. You'll also want to note the staffing levels and how the staff treat the residents.
Additionally, take a look at the residents and see if they look like they are hygienic and seem content. This can give you a true glimpse of the atmosphere of a particular health care center. Even better, while at each nursing home, see if you can speak with other residents and their families. They will be able to give you a first-hand account of their experiences.
Ask a Lot of Questions
A nursing home that is intent on providing the best care to its nursing facility residents will have nothing to hide. Management will be happy to answer questions and encourage your involvement in the resident care provided to your relative. Not all nursing homes in Chicago have inadequate staffing or high turnover. Make sure that when you ask questions about staff, turnover, care, procedures, and contracts that you are satisfied with the answers. If not, keep looking until you find a health care center that provides exactly what you need.
Trust Your Gut If Something Doesn't Feel Right
When walking through these facilities, if you notice inadequate supervision or other issues that make you question the well-being of your loved one if you put them there, trust your feelings. If it seems like poor care is the standard of patient care, do not sign the contract. It's better to be picky than to have your family member suffer harm at the hands of an inadequate nursing home.
The Consequences of Choosing Poorly-Rated Nursing Homes
Poor ratings can be very revealing when it comes to choosing a nursing home. While it is also best to make an in-person visit to each one on your list, look deeply at why a health care center may have a one-star rating. Here is what could happen if you rush your decision and wind up putting your loved one into one of the worst Illinois nursing homes:
Negative Impact on Patient Care
Inadequate care is one of the biggest concerns in nursing homes. When there is inadequate supervision due to insufficient staffing, it is more likely that Illinois residents in nursing homes will suffer falls, bedsores, and infections. This can then lead to a drastically reduced quality of life for your loved one.
Additionally, the potential for abuse and neglect becomes much higher. Your loved one deserves a high quality of care and the nursing home is supposed to provide quality services.
Legal Consequences
The Illinois Department of Health abides by both federal government and state regulations to keep nursing home residents safe. These nursing home regulations include providing a sufficient number of qualified staff members to meet the needs of residents and transparent reporting. When a nursing rehab center violates these rules, it can lose its license and certifications.
Every nursing home must create an assessment that fully details a resident's care plan at the time of admission. In this assessment, goals must be set for improving or maintaining a resident's level of health. If a nursing home fails in this care by being negligent or conducting itself in a way that is abusive, legal measures can be taken.
Your loved one deserves high-quality care, and if you suspect that anything less than that is being provided to them, you need to contact our Illinois nursing home neglect law firm immediately. Our legal team provides free consultations to help you determine the next steps to take to protect your loved one from additional harm.
How to Spot Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home abuse can take several different forms, and relatives should be involved in overseeing their care to prevent it or spot the signs. Knowing what to look for at the health care center in which your loved one resides is important for protecting your family member and all elderly residents.
Physical Abuse
Resident safety is something that every care center claims, though if you visit and discover that your loved one has bruises, cuts, fractures, marks from restraints, facial injuries, or bedsores, these are all troubling signs. Sexual abuse is an even more upsetting discovery that can happen in understaffed or poorly-managed care centers. Take photos of these injuries and document the dates and times, as well as a statement from your family member on how the injuries occurred.
Emotional Abuse
Not all abuse is physical in nature, and sometimes physical abuse will accompany emotional abuse. Other times, abuse may only be emotional in nature, but is still just as destructive. Your loved one may be enduring this type of abuse if they become withdrawn, fearful, avoid eye contact, or lose interest in social activities that they once loved.
Neglect
Is your loved one receiving the best care at their care center? When you visit, pay attention to their condition. If they are wearing dirty clothing, look like they haven't bathed in days, or their room is filthy, they might be neglected. Other signs of neglect include malnutrition, dehydration, and missing medical aids such as their dentures, eyeglasses, or walkers.
Financial Abuse
One of the protections nursing home residents have is to control their own finances. If it looks as though they have unusual transactions or transfers, changes to their will, new lines of credit opened, or a fraudulent signature, you need to stand up for them immediately.
Steps to Take If You Suspect Chicago Nursing Home Abuse
Even if you've done your diligence in selecting a facility that you feel will provide quality care, it is vital that you know how to report nursing home abuse if your loved one is harmed in any way.
Document with Evidence
If you suspect the care your loved one is receiving is abusive or neglectful, gather evidence. Take photos of unexplained bruises, bedsores, or unsanitary conditions. Get documents of medication errors, head injuries that needed to be treated at a hospital, and anything else that can show the nursing home was not abiding by its duty to properly care for your family member.
Report the Abuse to Authorities
If resident safety and well-being are an immediate concern, call 911. You should also report the abuse to the Illinois Department on Aging as well as the Public Health Department and the long-term care ombudsman.
Contact Elder Abuse Attorneys
Discovering that the people you've entrusted with the care of your loved one are causing harm to them is upsetting. Navigating the legal process of this situation is very complex. Make sure that you seek legal representation to help you fight for justice.
How 844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help
When it comes to protecting your loved one, the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act provides protections to those living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The protections are thorough and they essentially state that no resident shall be abused or neglected, that they can have their personal items in their rooms, and they can wear their own clothing.
Residents should never be restrained or confined, and they have the right to use their own physician. Their dignity should be upheld at all times, and when facilities fail to abide by these laws, they can be held liable for their abuse. At 844SeeMike Personal Injury Lawyers, we stand by you and your loved one to fight for justice. These horrific actions are intolerable, and we will not allow the abuse to continue. With our legal team by your side, you will have an advocate that will seek the maximum in compensation and protect the rights of your loved one.
Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation and learn more about how we can help you through this difficult time.
