nursing home neglect attorney chicago | Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd

Posts

How Are Nursing Homes Different than Assisted Living Facilities?

December 2, 2020/in Blog/by Yao Dinizulu

CHICAGO, IL – Many people often mistake nursing homes with living assisted facilities; however, the two offer two different levels of care. Assisted living facilities often provide personal care in a home-like, social setting and is generally for people who need extra monitoring or help. On the other hand, nursing homes are for people who are seriously ill and require around the clock care and monitoring.

According to the law in Illinois, assisted living facilities are described as “a home, building, or residence, or any place where sleeping accommodations are provided for at least three unrelated adults, in which at least 80% are 55 years of age or older, where the following is provided: services based on a social media where the resident’s unit is their home, mandatory services such as meals and laundry, and a physical environment that is a homelike setting,” (77 ILCS 295.200).

Long-term care facilities, like a nursing home, have a much higher level of care than a senior living home and different requirements under the law. According to Illinois law, a long-term care facility is “a private home, institution, building, or residence, or any other place, whether operated for profit or not, or a county home for the infirm and chronically ill,” (210 ILCS 45/1-113).

Care and Services Provided in Senior Housing

Assisted living facilities are generally for people who need help with activities of daily living. Assisted living is a more independent level of living. Someone who suffers from memory loss and who isn’t safe living alone is someone who would live in assisted living.

By contrast, residents in nursing homes require around the clock care and monitoring. Residents in nursing homes offer suffer with more complex health care conditions that require additional assistance of a skilled nurse or a physical or speech therapist. Nursing homes legal purpose is to provide residents with intensive health care and nursing care to people who suffer from chronic conditions, like dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Regulatory Differences Between a Nursing Home and Assisted Living in Illinois

Nursing homes in Illinois are licensed, regulated, and inspected and/or certified by a number of public and private agencies, including the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). The IDPH is responsible for ensuring all nursing homes in the state comply with mandatory state regulations. IDPH also ensures facilities accept Medicare and Medicaid payment for services rendered to program beneficiaries meet all federal regulations.

Nursing homes are inspected at least once every six to 15 months, according to IDPH. Nursing home inspections, whether standard or in response to a complaint, are conducted without giving notice to the facility.

Assisted living facilities are often loosely regulated. Regulations are set by individual state laws, which is different in every state, and are not monitored by state or local governments. Assisted living facilities also do not receive Medicare or Medicaid funding. Illinois’ state regulation of assisted living facilities include is they must be licensed by the Division of Assisted Living.

Though there are some differences in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, there are many obvious differences. Before deciding where to place your loved one, make sure to research both facilities before determining which is a right fit.

Ahmaud Arbery: Witness Says Before Shooting the McMichaels Hit Him with Their Car

June 5, 2020/in Blog/by Yao Dinizulu

CHICAGO, IL – The three white men who are accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery faced a Glynn County judge Thursday morning for their preliminary and bond hearings. Arbery, an unarmed black man, was being pursued by Travis and Gregory McMichael, two white man, when he was gunned down while jogging on February 23 near Brunswick, Georgia.

A 28-second cell phone video of Arbery being shot and killed flooded social media platforms months later and the public called for the McMichaels to be arrested. On May 5, officials with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations secured search warrants to arrest the McMichaels on murder and aggravated assault charges. On May 21, the man who filmed the killing, William “Roddie” Bryan, was arrested on felony murder charges.

The three men engaged in an elaborate chase, hitting the 25-year-old jogger with a truck as he tried to escape them. Richard Dial, GBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, was asked whether he believed McMichael could’ve been acting in self-defense, he said it was Arbery who was defending himself.

“I believe Mr. Arbery was being pursued, and he ran until he couldn’t run anymore, and it was he turned his back to a man with a shotgun or fight with his bare hands against the man with the shotgun. He chose to fight,” Dial said according to CNN. “I believe Mr. Arbery’s decision was to just try to get away, and when he felt like he could not escape he chose to fight.”

As Travis and Gregory McMichael attempted to head him off, Arbery then turned and ran past the truck of Bryan who struck Arbery with the side of his truck. Investigators found a swipe from a palm print on the rear door of Bryan’s truck, cotton fibers near the truck bed that are attributed to contact with Arbery, and a dent below the fibers.

Arbery’s last moments emerged amid a week of nationwide protests over another killing – of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis – and demonstrators have called for justice in Arbery’s case.

Dial also testified that there were numerous times on social media that McMichael used the same slur words to describe people of color. Dial did not say which McMichael he was referring to and was not asked to clarify.

The Justice Department has launched a hate crime investigation in this case. With tensions already running high in Brunswick and the rest of the country, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said the state will do “whatever is necessary to keep the peace.”

What Protections does the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act cover?

March 31, 2020/in Blog/by Yao Dinizulu

Nursing home abuse and neglect often goes unaddressed because residents and their families don’t necessarily know the rights a resident has. The Illinois Nursing Home Care Act (210 ILCS 45) specifically protects nursing home residents who may be more vulnerable to exploitation, neglect or abuse. Residents have the same rights just as any other person has under Illinois law, federal law, and state laws.

What is abuse or neglect?
Anyone residing in a long-term care facility has the right to be free from abuse, neglect, mistreatment, and financial exploitation. Abuse generally refers to the harmful actions, while neglect refers to the negligence or carelessness.

The statue reinforces the rights that every Illinois citizen has and details a number of specific rights and protects nursing home residents have that are guaranteed by state law or under the U.S Constitution. Those include:

Rights regarding spousal impoverishment. Nursing home facilities must inform all new residents upon being admitted of their spousal impoverishment rights under the Illinois Public Aid Code and the Medicare Catastrophic Act.

Right to private visits. Residents cannot be denied the opportunity for family and friends to visit, unless there is a verified medical reason for restricting visitations.

Right to personal property. Nursing home staff are not allowed to withhold or take a resident’s personal property; however, if there is medical reason for why the resident cannot have access to an item, they may be prevented from doing so.

Right to manage your own finances. Due to the nature of many resident’s illnesses, residents may not always have immediate access to their money; however, nursing homes are prohibited from spending a resident’s funds without proper authorization.

Right to your own physician. Nursing home residents have the right to choose their own physician and cannot be denied an opportunity to see their physician.

Right to respect and privacy in medical care. Residents have the legal right to privacy, and undisclosed personal information with their doctors and/or physician.

Right to participate in medical care and refuse treatment. Nursing home residents have the right to understand medical treatment they are undergoing and/or refuse treatment or medical interventions.

Right to exercise religion. Nursing homes cannot prevent a resident from expressing his/her religion.

Right to be free of physical or chemical restraints, unless medically necessary. Often times nursing homes must put restraints on a resident who puts themselves or others at risk of hurting them. The only exception a verified medical reason and when absolutely necessary. A residents physician is the only one who can order the use of physical or chemical restraints.

Right to rescreening when admitted with serious mental illness. When residents are admitted into a nursing home facility, they have the right to be rescreened and annually assessed.

Right to be free from unlawful discrimination. No resident should be unlawfully discriminated by any owner, licensee, administrator, employee, or agent of a facility.

Right to authorized electronic monitoring. A resident has the right to allow electronic monitoring devices placed in their rooms.

Right to see an attorney or social worker. Residents cannot be denied the opportunity to receive counsel from an attorney or social worker.

If you or a loved one has been abused or neglected in a long-term care facility such as an assisted living facility or nursing home, please contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney. Schedule a free consultation today with Dinizulu Law Group today at (312) 384-1920.

The Severity of Medication Errors

November 20, 2019/in Blog/by Yao Dinizulu

CHICAGO, IL – Medication errors are one of the most prevalent problems in the healthcare industry. Experts estimate that more than 7 million Americans experience a medication error each year. In the study, it stated mistakes have cost more than $21 billion – which are all preventable. Some individuals are able to handle the unintentional consequences of improper medication administration, but for seniors and young children, this can be life threatening.

Medication errors are particularly found in nursing homes due to under-staffing. Many say that errors are common and not life-threatening; however, there are errors that are likely to be under-reported which the medical coding system makes easy to cover up error-related deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) argues medication errors are the third most common cause of death among nursing home patients.

So what does this say about nursing homes? Extensive investigations have taken place and research has shown as many as 95 percent of nursing homes in the United States are understaffed, causing neglect to most patients. Nursing home staff is expected to work longer hours and care for double, or even triple, the amount of residents they are normally expected to care for.

Types of Errors

The Nursing Home Law Center requires skilled nursing facilities to keep errors within a 5 percent margin. Although this margin is broadly defined, it includes errors such as not mixing medication as directed, giving medications at improper times, or not dosing the last small portion of medication.

Errors within this 5 percent margin do not impact licensing because these types of administration errors are likely to be made at home when self-administering, as well. More serious errors can lead to tremor, coma, or even death – resulting in legal action against nursing facilities.

Prevention Process

Nursing homes must begin to increase staffing levels exponentially and invest in better prevention practices to help prevent nursing home abuse. Nursing facilities are chronically understaffed due to the notorious low-paid and poor management resulting in high turnover rates. High turnover rates cause staff to be unfamiliar with patients needs and care regiments, and are more likely to make mistakes.

Nursing homes need to implement a medication reconciliation program that evaluates a complete list of medications used by each patient. These programs are critical as many patients will not be able to independently which is used to verify their course of treatment.

Finally, nursing homes need to minimize high-risk behaviors, such as disposing of discontinued medications or medications from discharged patients, improperly transporting medications, or administering medications without a full review of the label directions.

As a society, we must come together to protect nursing home residents who are some of the most vulnerable members of our society. They deserve to be treated fairly and just with careful and appropriate treatment. This is critical on management as they will need to be client-focused and to implement changes immediately by taking responsibilities more serious.

The Alarming Reality

For one family, their loss of a loved one was tragic and very much preventable. A recently widowed 71-year-old female was hospitalized for uncontrolled hypertension and acute kidney injury. Her past medical history was significant for coronary heart disease with hypertension, persevered ejection fraction, and type 2 diabetes. The patient had a history of being a cigarette smoker and was under significant stress due to the death of her husband.

During her stay of hospitalization, she clinically improved after receiving temporary hemodialysis and her anti-hypertensive medications were adjusted. At the time of discharge, her prescription medications included amlodipine (Norvasc) 10mg twice daily with two refills allowed, metoprolol 50mg twice daily, doxazosin 2mg daily, and torsemide 10mg daily.

Over the course of 3 months, she experienced worsening fatigue, personality changes, became lethargic, and slower movements – all of which was noted in medical records. Her blood pressure was no longer controlled, and she was re-hospitalized for chest pain and underwent angioplasty. When admitted to the hospital, she saw multiple specialists and ancillary staff. As an outpatient, she was seen by her family physician twice. After several weeks had passed, she was eventually diagnosed with anxiety and depression, and prescribed citalopram and alprazolam.

The patient then entered the emergency room for a third time after a fall. She demonstrated several side effects of the multiple medications she was prescribed to take. Lab work was conducted and was noted for elevated creatinine and a CT of the head and brain revealed no acute abnormalities. Admission medication reconciliation (MED REC) revealed she was taking metoprolol, doxazosin, alprazolam, citalopram, and thiothixene (Navane) 10 mg twice daily.

Upon review of her pill bottles, it was found that her outpatient pharmacy accidentally dispensed Navane, an anti-psychotic, instead of Norvasc, and she took this medication religiously for 3 months. A diagnosis of thiothixene-related drug-induced Parkinsonism was made.

Errors were made at a multitude of care levels, including prescribing, initial pharmacy dispensation hospitalization, and subsequent outpatient follow-up. Adverse drug events account for more than 3.5 million physician office visits and nearly 1 million emergency department visits per year that affects patients, providers, and the economy.

Despite the countless opportunities for intervention, multiple health care providers overlooked her symptoms. Our population is continually growing with a longer life-expectancy, the frequent occurrence of medication errors and polypharamacy will likely increase. Efforts must be made to improve overall physician communication and transition of care to decrease preventable errors.

What to do if Your Loved One has been Neglected or Abused in a Nursing Home

It’s important to reach out to an experienced nursing home abuse attorney immediately to begin reviewing the facts of your case. In the case discussed, the woman is entitled to legal action against the hospital, providers, and specific staff members who neglected her, among others. Due to the statue of limitations, an attorney must begin to work on your case immediately.

Do not wait to hear what the facility is going to do going forward to address this issue – contact an attorney right away. The attorney’s at Dinizulu Law Group specialize in nursing home abuse and neglect and use their experience with a dynamic and honest approach so appropriate parties are held accountable for the abuse your loved one has endured. Please call our office to schedule a free consultation. For additional information, please visit our website.

Contact Information:

(312) 384-1920

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

Report Claims Nursing Home Kitchen’s “Horrible,” Endangering Residents Nationwide

October 10, 2019/in Blog/by Yao Dinizulu

CHICAGO, IL – Nursing home facilities are now being investigated nationwide after an extensive investigation on nursing home kitchen’s are in “horrible” condition, leaving residents endangered. You may hear horror stories of elder abuse and neglect in facilities such as bedsores, bed bugs, or over-medicating residents, but food handling remains a consistent and overlooked hazard.

A five month extensive study was conducted by FairWarning, a non-profit organization that focuses on the public’s health, consumer, and environmental issues. FairWarning’s investigation is based on inspection reports, federal data, and interviews with residents and caretakers showed that residents nationwide are at-risk for foodborne illnesses due to unsafe and unsanitary kitchens.

Foodborne illnesses are a threat to any age group; however, people over 65 are especially susceptible due to weaker immune systems, chronic diseases, immobility, and any age-related changes in their digestive system. The most common incident’s that were not logged in any restaurant inspector’s notebook include: flies buzzing around food, cockroaches in the kitchen, moldy ice cream machines, debris stuck to food handling items, and mouse droppings across the top of the stove.

From 1998 to 2017, 230 foodborne illness outbreaks were reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreaks caused 54 deaths and 532 hospitalizations, and further sickening 7,648 people.

Not all cases were brought on by poor sanitation – some outbreaks were the result of contaminated food brought into facilities from the outside. Investigators reported that in one facility, the kitchen staff failed to check the sanitizer levels in the dishwasher and didn’t realize the injector was clogged. The facility’s administrator had no comment.

“There’s a huge under-reporting of food issues,” said Charlene Harrington, a nurse and professor at University of California, a researcher of nursing home quality.

Dangerous and Unsafe Food Handling

In Illinois, all workers in a restaurant and non-restaurant food establishment is required to have a Food Handler’s Safety Card, a certification that shows you know how to prepare, store or serve food, handle food equipment and utensils, or food-contact surfaces. All employees are required to obtain their Food Handler’s Card within the first 30 days of hire.

Food handling is the third most frequently cited violation in America’s estimated 15,700 nursing homes, behind infection control and accidents, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. These figures do not include assisted living, who create their own standards and have nearly no data collection nationwide.

Feds Propose Rollback

Thirty-three percent of nursing homes were cited for violating federal requirements to safely store, prepare and serve food. Genesis HealthCare, the nation’s largest for-profit nursing home chain with 400 facilities in 27 states, has more than 43 percent of nursing homes cited for food safety lapses last year.

A CDC spokesperson stated that the agency relies on voluntary reporting of foodborne illness from state, local, and territorial health departments, some of which have limited to no resources or training. Many illnesses go under-reported due to sick individuals not seeking medical care or a diagnosis.

In July, the Trump Administration proposed lower qualifications for directors of food and nutrition services, weakening the standards of an already broken system.

“They’re clearly weakening the standards regarding food service and the safety of food handling,” said Richard Mollot, executive director of New York’s Long Term Care Community Coalition.

Reoccurrences

Many of the same nursing homes are breaking standards of food repeatedly by skimping on resident’s dietary needs to increase profit. Since January 2016, nearly a third of nursing homes that were cited two or more times had the same food safety violation, according to the FairWarning report.

The report claims one Arkansas facility was written up seven times in the last three years, including “unsealed foods in storage, grimy kitchen appliances and staff with unwashed hands touching residents’ food,” inspection reports show. When the nursing home was cited the sixth time in July 2018, a government inspector asked the nursing director if she would eat the food that was being prepared in the facilities kitchen.

“No,” the nurse responded, according to the report.

Lack of Assisted Living Supervision

Assisted living facilities lack federal oversight, which food safety experts stated it could be a much worse living situation for residents. Audrey Kelly of Los Angeles said she quickly moved her 98-year-old mother out of a six-person assisted living facility this year after finding cockroaches in the kitchen.

“It’s not right. It’s really, really disgusting,” Kelly said.

Her mother, Sally, uses a wheelchair after suffering from multiple strokes, became ill after her stay at Toluca Lake Manor Senior Assisted Living in Sherman Oaks, California. She was suffering from stomach cramps and diarrhea.

In another assisted living facility, a Georgia woman who pays thousands of dollars a month, stated she has experience several food- related illnesses that confined her to her bed. She mentions the moldy cheese and lettuce that was being served at the salad bar.

Contact an Experience Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney

Within the coming weeks, we are sure to hear more information regarding food safety and standards in nursing homes and more people will speak out on their experience now that light is being shed on this. It’s important to contact an experienced nursing home abuse and neglect attorney as soon as possible rather than wait to see what the facility will do to change the problem – if they ever do.

Our attorney’s work diligently towards getting your loved one out of harm’s way and getting the justice they deserve. Due to the statue of limitations, we will need to begin to work on your case right away due to the time sensitive manner.

Please contact our office at (312) 384-1920 for a free consultation, or by visiting our website.

Contact:

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