Category: Nursing Home

The use of bed rails in nursing homes has led to severe injuries and death. Bed rails are used to increase independence and keep elderly patients from falling out of bed. However, unsafe bed rails can lead to falls, entrapment, asphyxiation, and death. 

Illinois nursing homes were especially hard-hit during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and a new outbreak has been ongoing during the fall. While the government has taken proactive measures to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes, cases have quadrupled since the beginning of June.

A drug-resistant and deadly fungus called Candida auris is spreading in Illinois nursing homes, making it important for staff to take preventative measures to stop outbreaks. This fungus resists most antifungal medication and antibiotics and can result in death within 90 days.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been at least 282,000 reported cases of coronavirus in U.S. nursing homes, accounting for 43% of COVID-19 deaths.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) recently disclosed that they failed to process and investigate abuse and neglect reports in nursing home facilities between March and June 2020. IDPH has launched an investigation of the ignored complaints.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has new online icons that flag nursing homes with a history of abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

There comes a time in life when we dread getting older and the consequences that come with it. One such consequence is the need to have others responsible for your care. That’s why nursing homes are around; they care for you in your time of need and offer 24-hour assistance. But this level of care comes at a cost.

Bedsores are a preventable injury that can have potentially fatal consequences for elderly residents of nursing home facilities. Caregivers and healthcare professionals within nursing homes have a duty of care to properly care for residents so they do not develop these injuries.

Every year, over 500,000 cases of elder abuse are reported in America, and many more cases go unreported leaving victims without help. One in ten elderly adults over 60 experience some form of elder abuse.

Approximately a month ago, on June 20th, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported about 21,000 confirmed cases and 3,649 deaths in the nursing home setting. One month later has the situation at nursing homes improved?