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According to a CBS News Report, a recent survey by Families for Better Care gives Illinois and ten other states a failing grade for the quality of care rendered to nursing home residents.
In addition to Illinois nursing homes, States that got Fs for poor quality nursing home care are: Iowa, Nevada, Michigan, New York, New Mexico, Missouri, Oklahoma, Indiana, Louisiana, and Texas.
Families for Better Care, the nonprofit elder advocacy group that released the study, based its grading system on 2012 federal data that identified issues such as state inspection results, staffing insufficiencies and complaints against nursing homes for resident neglect or abuse.
The report also noted that only seven states provided nursing home residents with an average of more than one hour of nursing care daily.
Illinois nursing homes are regulated by the Illinois Department of Public Health. While my personal experience is that IDPH surveyors do a thorough job when conducting annual inspections of these facilities, the budget crisis in Illinois has caused cutbacks for the state agency charged with overseeing the safety of Illinois nursing home residents. These budget problems have caused delays in investigating reports of abuse or neglect in Illinois nursing homes.
It is very important for family members of nursing home residents to monitor the well-being of their loved ones to see that their needs are met in a prompt manner. And for those who may be faced with the decision of placing a family member in an Illinois nursing home, please feel free to contact my office for a free Nursing Home Checklist, which may provide assistance to you in making the decision of which nursing home you choose.