A message from Attorney Steven Levin
By now it seems self-evident that the nursing homes and assisted living centers housing many of our elderly and most vulnerable citizens are uniquely susceptible to outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
We know that the disease is particularly dangerous for older people. We understand intuitively that a site where older people — some of whom cycle in and out of hospitals, bringing germs back and forth — live in close quarters, with shared spaces and resources, faces heightened risk for infection and contagion.

Continue Reading Nursing Homes Must Do More to Protect Residents and Staff

Over the next 20 years, the country will see a surge in the number of older adults who can no longer care for themselves, as will the number of persons diagnosed with dementia. A sizable amount of these two groups are likely to need long-term care services, one being the age 85 and older population — which is expected to double between 2025 and 2040. And a new report from our Midwest neighbors to the north is showing the most grimace future for an ongoing issue we have in Illinois as well. According to a new report based on…
Continue Reading Survey Shows Long-Term Caregivers are in Short Supply

Iowa Nursing Home with Illinois Ties Added To Federal Watch List
An Iowa nursing home in Dallas County has joined other troubled homes on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Special Focus Facilities (SFF) list due to its established pattern of numerous, serious violations related to resident care. Rowley Memorial Masonic Home in Perry is responsible for 40 older residents. It is run by Health Dimensions Group, a Minnesota company that also manages nursing homes in Illinois and six other states.
Inspectors recently cited the Iowa home for:

Continue Reading Poor Management Tied To Illinois Nursing Homes

Coronavirus Outbreak Prompts Long-Term Care Facilities to Follow Updated Infectious Disease Guidelines, Provide Stay Well Tips for Staff, Residents, and Visitors
Managing the care of more than 2.2 million people living in U.S. long-term care settings, many with underlying health complications, without the spread of rapidly growing pathogens, is difficult and can cause severe complications to residents. And during a viral outbreak, such as the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19), nursing homes will become even more challenged. The new virus is thought to spread primarily via droplets in the air, similar to other respiratory viruses, such as influenza, and has been identified in…
Continue Reading Coronavirus Outbreak Reported at U.S. Nursing Home

Financial Abuse and Scamming Nursing Home Residents of Their Money
Several research studies, including an analysis by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimate that seniors in the U.S. are scammed out of anywhere from $3 billion to $37 billion a year. Those over age 70 lose an average of $10,000 to elder financial exploitation each year, and the losses are even higher when the scammer is a friend, trusted caregiver, or relative.

• In 2018, the Office of Financial Protection for Older Americans received over 180,000 encounters of suspicious elder financial exploitation (EFE), involving a total of more than $6 billion since 2013.

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Continue Reading Risk Factors for Financial Abuse in Nursing Homes

Nursing Home Resident Was Smothered to Death by Signed-In Visitor
Police in Florida have arrested William Hawkins, 47, after being charged with breaking into the Tiffany Hall Nursing & Rehab Center in Port St. Lucie and smothering a 95-year-old resident to death with a pillow. The man matched the description provided by staff members and was also listed as a visitor for the victim. The murder happened in January 2020.
The man reportedly confessed to the crime while speaking to his estranged sister in jail and explained that the nursing home resident had written a book about him that upset him.
Continue Reading Nursing Home Visitor Killed Elderly Resident

Are Illinois Nursing Homes Prepared to Prevent Coronavirus from Spreading?
Sicknesses can quickly spread when people are in closer proximity because viruses loom in the air and on surfaces that are touched and shared. Nursing home residents are often enclosed within shared spaces for eating, socializing and living, making the facilities home to several highly contagious viruses. As U.S. cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus continue to rise, including an elderly couple from Chicago, Illinois, nursing homes should be well-informed and prepared to handle a potential case of an infectious disease outbreak related to the sometimes-deadly respiratory illness.
As of…
Continue Reading Nursing Homes Should Be Prepared For Coronavirus

Alzheimer’s and Dementia Residents Can Struggle with Communication
According to the latest Alzheimer’s Association report, an increase in those with declining cognitive abilities impact an estimated 230,000 people in Illinois, a number that is expected to rise nearly 13 percent by 2025. Dementia, a form of Alzheimer’s, is one of the only top-10 causes of death in the U.S. that cannot be prevented, cured, or slowed.
The majority of individuals diagnosed with dementia grow to rely on care provided by a nursing home to help manage their daily activities, medications, financial needs and assist them while residing in a safe environment. And as…
Continue Reading Guide To Communicating With Dementia Residents