Time Passes as Nursing Home Care Worsens
As the need for quality care grows with an expanding aging
population, the state of nursing homes in Illinois continues to
decline.
Horwitz attorney Jeffrey Schlapp (former V.P. for an Illinois nursing home chain) joins trusted advocate, Margaret Neiderer and online radio host, Rosemary Roberts for a candid discussion of the state of nursing home care today.
Part I : Overview; What families must know before choosing a long-term care or Assisted Living facility
- Long-term care is governed by different federal and state laws depending on the type of facility you choose.
- Why it's a good idea to have an attorney review your contract before you sign!
- Why residents and family members MUST participate in the "new resident Care Plan" and subseqent plans
- An estimated 30 - 50 % of long-term care environments continue to provide sub-standard care
Click Here to Listen to Part 1 (43 min)
Part II: The Ombudsman & Family Councils
- Mandated as "resident advocates" the Ombudsman program remains unableto meet the needs of a growing resident population, underfunded and unstaffed.
- Federal law requires Family Councils be provided for within all long-term care facilites. Resident rights and quality care can benefit when family and residents band together for quality improvement
Click Here to Listen to Part 2 (12 min)
Part III: Returning Injured Soldiers; an unthinkable system of rehabilitative care
Today's injured soldiers returning home from the Middle East -- victims of severe head trauma and loss of limbs -- are victimized once more as they become lost within long-term care facilities neither qualified or staffed to meet their needs. Coupled with an increase of mental health patients, the environment is increasingly dangerous for the aging as well as the traumatized and mentally unstable. All residents are at risk.
Click Here to Listen to Part 3 (15 min)
Part IV: New Legislation for Change -- House Bill 3445; Nursing Home Liability Insurance Bill
Your car mechanic, your contractor, your schools and your local fast food restaurant have liability insurance, but it's not required of nursing homes.
When residents are injured or die as a result of abuse and/or neglect, the assets of many facilites are protected by parent corporations, and there is no liability insurance to compensate the resident or family for the injuries or trauma suffered.
Our most frail, disabled and aging ARE NOT PROTECTED, while private and corporately owned nursing homes feel little if any pressure to meet federal and state requirements of care.
House Representative, John Bradley (117th Dist) has sponsored HB3445, which would require all nursing homes and long-term care facilities (including Assisted Living) to show proof of liability insurance to obtain licensing.
The public must contact their senators and insist they support HB 3445 in its original language; no watered down language with loopholes that turn a blind eye to increasing abuse and neglect. Legislators must provide the means for accountability and compensation when nursing home administrators fail to protect their residents.
Click Here to Listen to Part 4 (14 min)
To obtain a free copy of our HB 3445 information pamphlet, please call (312) 212-3764, or (toll free) 1-866-370-5441. Quantities available for church, civic and retiree organizations