No improvement in nursing home care in Illinois

 Posted on February 03, 2015 in Firm News

In a previous article we wrote on our website, we discussed a report that ranked Illinois at 42nd in the country in terms of nursing home care in 2013. This state was better than only eight other states when it came to facilities focused on caring for the elderly.

That article, which can be found here, discussed why Illinois ranked so poorly in 2013 and why it was one of 11 states that received a failing grade. Unfortunately, any hopes that the report would prompt some positive changes were dashed when researchers from Families for Better Care, the organization that released the 2013 rankings, reported that Illinois dropped to an overall ranking of 44 in 2014.

Illinois, still given a failing grade overall, got worse marks in three different areas including:

• Above-average direct care staffing
• Sufficient professional resources per resident
• Legitimate official complaints

The number of deficient facilities in the state remained unchanged.

On the upside, there were some improvements noted in the 2014 findings. Illinois facilities reportedly improved when it came to:

• Providing resident with sufficient direct care
• Lowering the number of severely deficient facilities
• Above-average health inspections
• Above-average staffing of professional nurses

Overall, the report notes that Illinois facilities were consistently below or only slightly above average in terms of resident care in almost all areas.

This report is indeed troubling as it indicates that residents in care facilities may not be receiving the attention and care that is deemed appropriate. This means that many people may be victims of neglect or mistreatment due to lacking resources, inadequate staffing and facility deficiencies. 

Family members and loved ones who are concerned about the welfare of someone in a nursing home should discuss the situation with the patient. If there is reason to believe that he or she is the victim of neglect or abuse, it can be crucial to discuss the legal options with an attorney.