Chicago attorney nursing home abuse | Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd

Posts

Coronavirus Outbreak in Illinois Nursing Home Facility

March 24, 2020/in Blog/by Yao Dinizulu

CHICAGO, IL – Officials of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) have reported at least 46 people, including residents and staff members, have tested positive for coronavirus at a DuPage county nursing home. This outbreak is the first in a long-term care facility in Illinois. Chicago’s WGN9 reported the first confirmed test of a Willowbrook resident by state health officials.

Within a matter of days, the virus spread to other members at Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of Willowbrook, a southwestern suburb of Chicago. Forty-six people, thirty-three residents and 13 staff members – have all tested positive for the virus. Other residents are now isolated in another area of the facility as officials expect additional positive tests to come back within the near future.

Mayor Frank Trilla, said, “this could have happened anywhere.”

There haven’t been any unusual incidents at this nursing home before the outbreak, though the mayor noted that nursing homes are regulated by the state and not local government.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established a new set of rules for nursing home facilities beginning on March 13. The critical new measures were designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The new set of rules directs facilities to to significantly restrict visitors and nonessential personnel, as well as restrict communal activities inside nursing homes, with exceptions for compassionate care, such as an end-of-life situation. All group activities and communal dining are canceled and be implementing active screening of residents and health care personnel for fever and respiratory symptoms. The only exception is for certain care situations, such as end-of-life situations. The new measures are CMS’s latest action to protect America’s seniors, who are especially vulnerable to contracting COVID-19.

The First Outbreak at a Nursing Home Facility

According to the CDC, seniors with multiple health conditions are at the highest risk for complications. There have been reports of large numbers of cases spreading rapidly through nursing homes, such as the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington. The New York Times reported two thirds of residents, 55 employees, and 14 visitors have tested positive for COVID-19. Thirty five people have died, claiming 12 percent of staff and residents lives. These death totals make up nearly half of the coronavirus death toll in Washington. These numbers are expected to increase as tests become more available.

The Life Care Center stated, “Current residents and associates are being monitored closely, specifically for an elevated temperature, cough and/or shortness of breath.”

It’s not clear how the virus reached the facility; however, according to the New York Times the first reported case of coronavirus in the United States was from a man in nearby Snohomish County.

Officials of the Life Care Center, which operates more than 200 facilities in 28 states, are monitoring residents and workers closely.

The Outbreak Continues to Spread

Other than the outbreak in Kirkland, at least 15 others have died and dozens more have been infected at long-term care facilities across the nation. Major outbreaks include Willowbrook, Illinois with 46 infections, four deaths in at least two facilities in New Jersey, 13 infected in Little Rock Arkansas, and 11 infected in Troy, Ohio, with at least 30 more showing symptoms.

“Nursing homes would always have been ground zero, but given we already have a huge staff shortage, this will be magnified,” said, David Grabowski, a Harvard Medical School professor who has studied staffing storages in nursing homes. “It could be worse for today’s nursing home facilities than ever.”

The spread of COVID-19 in a nursing home can amplify when patients are transferred and when staff and visitors come and go. The CDC has said visitors and healthcare personnel are the most likely sources of introduction into long-term care facilities. In a recent report by CDC, the agency went on to say, “Limitations in effective infection control and prevention and staff members working in multiple facilities,” can contribute to an outbreak.

How to Keep Residents Safe

The CDC has made additional recommendations for nursing homes as they work to keep residents safe, including:

Nursing homes should put alcohol-based hand sanitizer with 60-95 percent alcohol in every resident room – both inside and outside the room if possible – and in every common area
Sinks should be well-stocked with soap and paper towels for hand washing
Tissues and facemasks must be available for people who are coughing
Hospital grade disinfectants must be available to allow for frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces and shared resident equipment

More information on a full list of CDC’s guidance for nursing homes safety can be found here.

Counties in Illinois with Confirmed COVID-19 Cases:

Adams
Christian
Champaign
Clinton
Cook
Cumberland
DeKalb
DuPage
Kane
Kankakee
Kendall
Lake
LaSalle
Madison
McHenry
McLean
Peoria
Sangamon
St. Clair
Washington
Whiteside
Will
Williamson
Winnebago
Woodford

Any nursing home with residents suspected of having COVID-19 should contact their local health department immediately. To remain updated on long-term care and nursing home updates, please visit the CMS website.

Negligence Related to Coronavirus

If a loved one has sustained a serious infectious disease complication or missed a medical treatment provided by a nursing home or the understaffing in facility, we can help you. Please reach out to Dinizulu Law Group, a Chicago-based law firm with extensive experience in nursing home negligence. For a free consultation, please call (312) 384-1920.

Better Oversight in Needed in Nursing Homes to Protect Residents

December 16, 2019/in Blog/by Yao Dinizulu

CHICAGO, IL – The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is responsible for ensuring nursing homes nationwide meet the federal quality standard of care, including residents be free from abuse. CMS has a contract with state agencies that allow citations on nursing homes for any incidents of abuse.

What GAO Found

In June 2019, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that from 2013 to 2017, nursing home abuse citations more than doubled, increasing from 430 reports in 2013 to 875 in 2017 and the largest increase in severe cases. There are gaps in the oversight that make it difficult to protect residents from the abuse occurring within nursing home facilities.

Specifically, the main concerns by GAO include:

Information on abuse and perpetrator types is not readily available. CMS’s database does not allow the type of abuse or perpetrator to be identified by the agency. Specifically, CMS does not require state agencies to record abuse or perpetrator type, and even when recorded, it cannot be easily analyzed by CMS. GAO suggested that CMS require state agencies to submit data on abuse, perpetrator types, and HHS concurred.
Facility reported incidents lack key information. Federal law requires nursing homes to self-report allegations of abuse and covered individuals to report reasonable suspicions of crimes against residents. CMS has not provided any guidance to nursing homes on what information should be included in facility-reported incidents, which contributes a lack of information to state agencies and delays in on-going investigations.
Gaps exist in the CMS process for state agency referrals to law enforcement. There are gaps in CMS’s process for reporting incidents to law enforcement officials. These gaps may limit or delay CMS’s ability to ensure that nursing homes meet federal requirements to ensure residents are free from abuse. GAO identified issues relating to:
1. Referring abuse to law enforcement in a timely manner,
2. Tracking abuse referrals,
3. Defining what it means to substantiate an allegation of abuse,
4. And sharing information with law enforcement.

Recommendations by GAO for Executive Action

The administrator of CMS should require that abuse and perpetrator type be submitted in CMS’s databases for deficiency, complaint, and facility-reported incident data where CMS can systematically assess trends in these data.
The administrator of CMS should develop and guide – using a standardized form – to all state agencies on the information nursing homes and covered individuals should include on facility-reported incidents.
The administrator of CMS should require state agencies to immediately refer complaints to law enforcement if they have reasonable suspicion that a crime against a resident has been committed when the complaint was received.
The administrator of CMS should conduct oversight of state agencies to ensure referrals of complaints, survey’s, and incidents within a reasonable suspicion be referred to law enforcement in a timely manner.
The administrator of CMS should develop guidance for state agencies clarifying allegations verified by evidence should be substantiated and reported to law enforcement and state registries in cases where federal deficiency may not be appropriate.
The administrator of CMS should provide guidance on what information needs to be contained in the referral of abuse allegations to law enforcement.

Why GAO Conducted this Study

Nationwide, nearly 1.4 million elderly or disabled individuals receive care in more than 15,500 nursing homes. CMS, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), defines the standards nursing homes must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid program.

Often times, nursing home residents have physical or cognitive limitations that can leave them vulnerable to abuse. Abuse of nursing home residents can occur in many forms – including physical, mental, verbal, and sexual – and can be committed by staff, residents, or others in the nursing home. Any incident of abuse is serious and can result in potentially devastating consequences for residents such as mental anguish, serious injury, and even death.

What to do if You Suspect Abuse

You should contact an attorney immediately who is knowledgeable and experienced in nursing home abuse to ensure your loved one’s rights are fully protected. A lawyer may serve as the liaison between your family, the nursing home, and IDPH during the investigation, or can conduct an independent investigation.

An attorney will help assess your options to seek relief through a lawsuit, which can include compensation for any physical, emotional, or financial harm your loved one has endured.

To schedule a free consultation, please contact our office at (312) 384-1920 or (800) 693-1LAW. Please visit our website for any additional information including previous verdicts and settlements.

CMS Adds New Transparency on Nursing Home Abuse

October 23, 2019/in Blog/by Yao Dinizulu

CHICAGO, IL – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will now be easier for the public to find nursing homes that have violated rules regarding abuse, neglect, or exploitation beginning today, October 23, 2019.

The agency’s Nursing Home Compare website provides detailed information about every Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing home nationwide. The tool allows you to search by location and/or nursing home names. There is now an icon next to the nursing homes that have been cited reported violations.

Consumers are able to see violations through the inspection reports provided on the website; however, CMS stated that inspection reports are becoming too difficult to access and adding the icon feature will make it easier to find information about abuse citations. The icon warns consumers about the harmful abuse of a resident within the last year, and the potentially harmful abuse of a resident within the last two years. CMS will be updating data information monthly.

In April, CMS announced they were adding improvements to the State Performance Standards System (SPSS) including ending the freeze on the health inspection domain of the Five Star Quality Rating System by resuming traditional methods of calculating health inspection scores by using three cycles of inspections. They will be adding the long-stay hospitalization measure and a measure of long-stay emergency department transfers to the rating system. CMS will also be adjusting the thresholds for staffing ratings. Finally, the threshold for the ‘number of days without a registered nurse onsite’ which will trigger an automatic downgrade to one star will be reduced from seven to four days.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma said, “By holding inspectors accountable for conducting timely and consistent inspections, we’re holding nursing homes accountable for providing safe, high-quality care–helping ensure safe nursing home environments.”

CMS hopes to become more consistent and transparent, requiring hospitals to post their list prices for consumers and force them to post their payer-negotiated rates starting in January 2020. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Congress are thinking of ways to force drug companies to disclose to consumers the real cost of drugs. The measure, passed in May, was intended for healthcare consumers with price transparency for prescription medications to help lower prescription costs.

According to the Nursing Home Abuse Center, nearly 1-2 million U.S. citizens 65 years or older have been mistreated, exploited, or injured by a caregiver. Only about 20 percent of cases or abuse and neglect are reported. If you’re looking to place a loved one in a nursing home facility, it’s important to do your research before placing them in one. Now that CMC has provided consumers with nursing homes that have been cited for abuse, neglect, and exploitation, it will be much easier to assess facility’s that will be better suited for your loved one.

If you think you or a loved one has experienced abuse, neglect, or been exploited while at the hands of a caregiver, please call one of our experienced nursing home abuse attorney’s right away to schedule a free consultation. Do not wait to hear what the facility is going to do going forward to address this issue. Due to the statue of limitations, we will have to begin working on your case right away. For any additional information, please check out our website.

Phone: (312) 384-1920

Address:
221 N. LaSalle St., Suite 1100
Chicago, IL 60601