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Illinois Nursing Home Deficiencies Up

Tue, 10/24/2000 - 11:00pm — Karen Stevenson
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The I-Care Illinois Long Term Care Ombudsman Program has issued a report finding that deficiencies in Illinois nursing homes increased significantly from 1995 to 1999. They found that homes that had one or more deficiencies that indicated that residents had the potential for more than minimal harm increased from 44% to 90% of the homes surveyed and that the percentage of surveys that showed actual harm increased from 6% to 31% of the facilities examined.

They said that many problems within long-term care facilities can either directly or indirectly be attributed to the lack of staff within the facilities, regardless of the fact that some facilities exceed the outdated example defined by Illinois regulation.

"This report is the first of its kind published that presents data from the surveys using the federal certification process which began in 1995," says Brian Lee, Communications Director for the Illinois Retired Teachers Association, who compiled the data for the report.

I CARE stands for Illinois Community Advocates for Residents' Empowerment. I CARE is a long-term care ombudsman program mandated under federal and state law to protect, defend and advocate for residents' rights in long-term care facilities, and provides services to 6,900 residents in 12 Central Illinois counties. It is a volunteer-based program and is sponsored by the Illinois Retired Teachers Association Foundation.

The I-Care Illinois Long Term Care Ombudsman Program has issued a report finding that deficiencies in Illinois nursing homes increased significantly from 1995 to 1999. They found that homes that had one or more deficiencies that indicated that residents had the potential for more than minimal harm increased from 44% to 90% of the homes surveyed and that the percentage of surveys that showed actual harm increased from 6% to 31% of the facilities examined.

They said that many problems within long-term care facilities can either directly or indirectly be attributed to the lack of staff within the facilities, regardless of the fact that some facilities exceed the outdated example defined by Illinois regulation.

"This report is the first of its kind published that presents data from the surveys using the federal certification process which began in 1995," says Brian Lee, Communications Director for the Illinois Retired Teachers Association, who compiled the data for the report.

I CARE stands for Illinois Community Advocates for Residents' Empowerment. I CARE is a long-term care ombudsman program mandated under federal and state law to protect, defend and advocate for residents' rights in long-term care facilities, and provides services to 6,900 residents in 12 Central Illinois counties. It is a volunteer-based program and is sponsored by the Illinois Retired Teachers Association Foundation.