Elder Law

Wanted Criminals Again Found in Chicago Nursing Home

By Levin & Perconti

The surprise Illinois nursing home quality check program known as ?Operation Guardian continued at a Chicago nursing home yesterday. As reported in the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Attorney General led a team of investigators at the Central Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Monday. While at the facility, Illinois officials discovered four residents with live arrest warrants.

The sweep yesterday was the twenty first such surprise investigation since the operation began. All told more than one hundred individuals with arrest warrants have been found hiding out in Illinois nursing homes. The investigators in this program include health experts, state regulators, police officers, and others. Besides checking for arrest warrants, the team also interviews residents to ensure that the care they are receiving reaches the standards to which they deserve.

These sweeps are separate from the state health department?s unannounced investigations that occurs every12 to 15 months. However, in those cases, the nursing facilities know that they will be up for an investigation in the 3-month window, and they often ensure that the facility is improved during that time. The department manages nearly 1,200 total nursing homes in Illinois, ensuring that all state nursing home laws are followed.

As we have often reported on this blog, some of the worst abuse at nursing homes involves one resident harming another resident. It is for that reason that our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti support all efforts to ensure the nursing home seniors are not at risk of harm from other residents with dangerous backgrounds. We are committed to helping all those who have suffered at the hands of inadequate supervision, negligent care, and abusive treatment while living at nursing homes. Please contact an expert in nursing home law if you suspect that a loved one may have suffered because of poor nursing home care.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on September 21, 2010 (boomark / email).