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CHICAGO, IL – Long-term senior care encompasses a spectrum of options. There are a variety of long-term care options including nursing homes and assisted living, but sometimes these are not enough.

Maintaining independence is a priority for most adults. Other alternatives like independent living and continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) attract many residents. For seniors who prefer a family-like atmosphere and need more help, options such as group homes are available.

Complex decision-making

Paying for long-term care facilities and determining the quality of care they can provide for you or your love one can be frustrating and overwhelming. Payment is a major limiting factor in long-term care choices. For example, assisted living facilities and CCRCs are extremely expensive. You’ll also need to factor in what is and isn’t covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

Facilities don’t operate the same way they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically because of the outbreaks and negligence to control measures. Resident activities and visitor restrictions may still be in place.

Staffing shortages continue to plague the long-term care industry. In a press release from the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, he Bureau of Labor Statistics reported losing nearly 290,000 caregivers (or 14% of its workforce) since February 2020, the worst job loss among all health care sectors.

Determining care levels

Long-term care is a good option for people who need around-the-clock care, assistance with daily activities and feeding, help with mobility such as transferring in and out of bed or to a wheelchair. Nursing home residents can receive prescribed treatment and personal care as needed. Rehabilitation services like speech or physical therapy may also be available.

Assisted living facilities offer a housing alternative for older adults who need assistance with dressing, bathing, eating and toileting, but do not require intensive medical and nursing care. Assisted living is known for its community-based approach, with a focus on group and individual activities so residents don’t feel isolated.

Utilize the Eldercare Locater to help you start the search for local long-term care facilities in your area.

Other types of long-term care facilities include:

• Retirement living/independent living
  Independent or retirement living focuses on a self-sufficient lifestyle for seniors. These residences might be part of self-contained retirement communities or high-rise apartment complexes, among other models. Costs for independent living options vary greatly based on location, services and benefits including housekeeping and activities offered.
• CCRCs
  CCRCs offer a tiered approach to their residence, so as their needs change, they can transition to on-site assisted living or nursing home facilities. A resident only has to make one move within their community to transition to different levels of care. CRCCs are intended to be the last place a person lives, but this streamlined convenience can cost a pretty penny. CRCCs represent a significant financial investment with hefty entrance fees and monthly charges.
• Adult family homes/residential care homes
  Unlike nursing homes, family homes and residential care units do not promise any kind of medical or skilled nursing coverage; however, they do help with day-to-day care including living, eating, bathing, dressing and toileting.
• Medical foster care
  For military veterans with chronic medical conditions that meet the nursing home level of care, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) oversees its Medical Foster Homes Program. These facilities are private homes in which a trained caregiver provides support to a small number of people. The costs ranges from about $1,500 to $3,000 per month based on your income and level of care needed.
• Memory care
  Older adults who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia requires an extra level of care and supervision. Memory care facilities offer a safe and structured environment with gentle sensory stimulation that people with dementia can benefit from. Secured memory units are located within many nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
• Skilled nursing facilities
  Nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities are often used interchangable; however, they aren’t exactly the same. Skilled nursing facilities have a consistent presence of nurses of physicians and offer rehabilitation services, including occupational, physical and speech therapy. An individual that truly qualifies for skilled nursing facility care needs significant assistance. For example, a skilled nursing resident may have a disability or require chronic medical care like dialysis.

Covering the cost

The cost of senior care depends on your geographic and metropolitan region. According to Genworth’s 2021 Cost of Care Survey, the median monthly cost for an assisted living facility is $4,500 – totaling $54,000 annually, up from $28,800 in 2004. Skilled nursing in a private room is more expensive clocking in at more than $9,000 per month, totaling more than $108,400 per year.

It’s important to review what Medicare and Medicaid cover, as well as how long-term care insurance can be applied towards nursing home costs.

CHICAGO, IL – Regulators have continued to allow thousands of nursing homes across the country to remain afloat without a registered nurse on duty, according to USA Today’s investigation. Only 4 percent of these nursing home facilities were cited by government inspectors. Even worse? Even fewer were fined.

Understaffing is a serious issue that has plagued nursing homes for decades. An online website found that more than 90% of nursing homes in the U.S. is currently understaffed.

In February 2022, the Biden Administration announced a comprehensive set of reforms to improve the quality and safety of nursing home care, hold nursing homes accountable for the care they provide and make the quality of care and facility ownership more transparent (CMS.gov). In the spring, they will propose a fourth approach.

USA TODAY‘s investigation compared millions of nursing home inspection reports and timesheets to the staffing numbers that are set by the federal government and found staffing patterns of failure.

Understaffed nursing home facilities has remained a stagnant problem well before the COVID-19 pandemic. CMS requires a registered nurse to be on-staff for eight hours a day; however, most facilities failed to meet this standard.

Many former nurses have been left stunned that the public has not demanded better care for vulnerable adults, especially after the gross negligence that was exposed during the pandemic.

Former registered nurse Barbara DeCelles worked 38 years at a senior care centers in Wisconsin and Illinois, but called it quits last year.

She explained she was done working 25-hour long shifts knowing she might be making a mistake, then leaving, and possibly driving off the road from exhaustion on her way home.

Since the late 1980s, federal regulations have required facilities to have “sufficient nursing staff” to meet residents needs and to have an RN in the building at least 8 hours each day. Nursing homes across the country have failed to meet this standard due to the long hours nurses are expected to work due to facilities being chronically understaffed.

Consequences of lax enforcement of understaffing

Cindy Napolitan, 66, is an eyewitness to what understaffing really means at Cheyenne Medical Lodge in Mesquite, TX, where she resides with her adult daughter. Both have multiple sclerosis (M.S.) and her husband, former caregiver, died in 2017.

Napolitan described her care as difficult to get regular showers or help transferring to a wheelchair. Her daughter suffered from a bed sore, or pressure ulcer, because the doctor’s orders to turn her every two hours was not followed. Since 2018, Texas nursing homes have been reported as the nation’s second lowest staffing levels.

Residents at other nursing home facilities reported to USA TODAY they felt trapped and no matter where they went, couldn’t find adequate care. In New York, Claire Campbell faced low staffing levels everywhere she took her mother, Grace Campbell. Despite filing various complaints with the state against facilities, she said very little changed.

Grace experienced delay in diaper changes, falls, dehydration and urinary tract infections while residing at The Riverside Premier Rehabilitation and Healing Center in Manhattan, NY. After another fall, Grace moved to Amsterdam Nursing Home in the early summer of 2021. Grace had to wait hours for help to use the bathroom and couldn’t push her wheelchair over the marble threshold.

The frequent delays caused Claire to hire an aid to visit her mother at the Amsterdam Nursing Home. Even that didn’t guarantee quality or timely care.

On Claire’s birthday in January, Grace called saying she had a bowel movement but no one had came to help her. Grace rushed over but within an hour, her mother was dead. Her death certificate cited “natural causes,” although she had significant bruising on her face and head suggesting she fell due to the nursing home’s negligence and low staffing levels.

Failure in Illinois

Jacinda Gaston often smelled urine when she stepped off the elevator to begin her shift at Alden Lakeland, an Uptown Chicago nursing home.

Residents who were able to speak told her they sat in soiled diapers for eight or more hours. Urine and stool ran up people’s backs to their necks and the entire bed had to be changed.

Academics recommend and the Illinois state law requires at least one certified nurse assistant (CNA) per eight residents a day. At night, state law requires at least one aide per 21 residents. At Alden Lakeland, Gaston was often responsible for up to 35 residents at a time.

Inspection reports from this year document the understaffing at Alden Lakeland. This nursing home is 1 of 6 facilities named in a class action lawsuit recently filed against The Alden Network, one of the largest nursing home operators in Chicago.

Since 2012, inspectors have shown up the Alden Lakeland 28 times and issued 90 citations. Reports documented abuse, head wounds, broken bones, medication errors, pressure ulcers that threatened lives, residents with dementia wandering unsupervised, improper use of physical restraints, cloudy catheter tubes, mice infestations and staff members providing care beyond the scope of their license.

Illinois had the lowest staffing in the nation overall across five years. Last year, 91% of nursing homes missed the mark set forth by Medicare.

CHICAGO, IL – Have you ever wondered what you’re agreeing to when you sign an arbitration agreement? An arbitration agreement is a written contract in which two or more parties agree to utilize a neutral third-party, the arbitrator, to resolve a dispute instead of pursing any legal claims against the other party through a lawsuit.

Arbitration overview

Rather than having your case heard before a judge in the court of law, your dispute is heard by an arbitrator during an arbitration hearing. The procedures involved are less rigorous than standard court procedures and is much more informal than a court hearing with most arbitration hearings being held in a conference room.

Arbitrators are often retired attorneys or judges; however, those in a more specialized industry can be trained in arbitration procedures.

The disadvantages of arbitration agreement

Arbitration leaves matters solely in the hands of the arbitrator versus a jury. The arbitrator acts as the judge and the jury, in this case. For most individuals, having a jury of peers is an important right when seeking restitution of a claim. If you can’t choose an arbitrator, there can be conflicts of interest between parties.

Arbitration also limits the amount of information each side is required to provide the other party. In employment cases, for example, this hurts the employee because the employer is normally the one in possession of most of the documentation relating to the employee’s case. Additionally, if a company insists on arbitration, you may have to pay for the process.

Most importantly, arbitration decisions typically cannot be appealed. If the arbitration is mandatory and binding, both parties waive their rights to the court system and have a judge or jury decide their case.

Contacting an attorney

There are plenty of good reasons you should not sign an arbitration agreement. While many people haven’t filed a lawsuit, you have the right to do so. Contact one of our skilled attorneys at the Dinizulu Law Group to review a contract or a stand-alone arbitration agreement. For a free case evaluation, contact us today at (312) 384-1920.

CHICAGO, IL – Depending on the state you reside in depends on if you can put a camera in a nursing home room. Some nursing homes have verbiage in their admission forms that prohibit all cameras and impose regulations and requirements for their use.

Concerns over nursing home abuse and neglect have prompted states across the country to pass laws allowing private cameras in nursing homes. As of 2022, there are ten states that allow private cameras which include:

• Illinois
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Minnesota
• New Mexico
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Texas
• Utah
• Washington

The details of surveillance cameras differ from state to state. There may be certain protocols you have to follow in order to install a camera. If you are considering installing a camera in a loved one’s nursing home room, you should contact an attorney to discuss the legal and practical implications. Many nursing homes fear cameras invade the privacy of staff members and other residents; however, these cameras provide an extra layer of security for family members who may be afraid of nursing home abuse.

The pros and cons in nursing homes

While cameras provide extra comfort, they can also catch abusers red-handed in the act. Examples of cases where a camera exposed nursing home abuse include:

• In 2012, a hidden camera caught two nursing home staff members sufficating an 98-year-old resident in Oklahoma. As a result, Oklahoma legally allows families to install cameras in nursing homes.
• In 2019, the family of an 89-year-old man noticed bruises, weight loss and cuts on their father. His son hid a camera in his father’s alarm clock stationed next to his bed in his Michigan nursing home. More than 100 secretly recorded video clips of abuse and neglect over the course of just two days.
• In October 2022, two staff members at a Texas nursing home abused an 86-year-old man. The nursing home told family members that the man fell out of his bed; however, the family installed a camera in his room due to previous incidents with the staff at the nursing home facility.

Some nursing homes prohibit the installation of cameras in residents’ rooms due to privacy and safety concerns.

• Roommates: Not all nursing home facilities have individual rooms for each resident. Nursing home cameras intended to monitor a resident could also catch roommates while they change or bathe.
• The staff: Cameras may increase staff resentment and lead to false accusation, according to data from the Annals of Long-Term Care. For example, if a camera catches a staff member moving a resident’s object, it may appear they stole it when they actually moved it out of the peripheral of the screen.
• The resident: Some seniors may not want cameras installed in their rooms. Depending where it’s set up, it could be an invasion of privacy as they change, bathe and more.

The Dinizulu Law Group can help you!

If you are unsure what to do, we recommend that you contact the Dinizulu Law Group for legal advice. If you suspect abuse and would like advice on the best ways to move forward, our team of skilled nursing home abuse lawyers can help protect your loved one from further harm.

For a free case evaluation, please contact (312) 384-1920.

CHICAGO, IL – Halloween can be a dangerous night for trick-or-treaters due to factors like distracted drivers, lack of visibility, alcohol or unsafe costumes.

For many people in Illinois, Halloween is filled with memories of fall leaves, crisp air, creative costumes and the best candy; however, there’s no denying that it can be a dangerous time of the year for pedestrians. In fact, children are twice as likely to be hit and killed by a vehicle on Halloween than any other day of the year (Safe Kids Worldwide). Take a look at why Halloween can be so dangerous.

Distracted driving

The dangers of distracted driving are much higher on Halloween night. Nearly 3,000 people are killed annually as a result of distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. One out of five people who are killed by distracted drivers are pedestrians. The majority of these deaths occur in cities at non-intersection locations between 6 p.m. and midnight. On a night like Halloween, the risk of accidentally hitting someone due to distracted driving is higher.

Lack of visibility

Now that it’s starting to get dark earlier in the day, lack of visibility and poor lighting makes it hard for drivers to see trick-or-treaters, especially if they’re in a dark costume. Trick-or-treaters should always be accompanied by an adult during your route. For parents, instruct your children to travel only in a familiar, well-lit area and stick with their friends. You should also agree on a specific time children should return home.

Alcohol

The scary truth of alcohol and Halloween? 43% of car crashes on Halloween involve someone who has a BAC of 0.08 or higher. In addition, 23% of pedestrian deaths are a result of drunk driving. Of all holidays, Halloween ranks #5 in terms of overall alcohol consumption. If you plan to attend a Halloween party, make arrangements to stay the night until you are sober or utilize ride share apps like Uber or Lyft.

Costume and decoration safety

To ensure that everyone has a fun holiday, FDA.gov compiled a list of Halloween safety tips. Often times, the risk starts with unsafe costumes. While they may look great, masks obstruct field of vision. So, a child who is attempting to look both ways before crossing the street may not see a car approaching. Longer costumers pose a tripping hazard for the person wearing it and others nearby. Dark costumes are also less visible, especially at night.