Elder Law

Illinois Nursing Home Violation: Westlake Home

By Levin & Perconti

The Illinois Department of Public Health recently released the latest list of nursing homes found to have violated basic laws concerning resident health, care, and safety. One of those negligent nursing homes, The Westlake Home, recently received several Type ?A? Violations from the Illinois Department and fined $20,000. The sanctions resulted from abuse, mistreatment, neglect, and psychological sexual abuse of a vulnerable young resident.

Psychological sexual abuse, more commonly considered sexually assault, involves the unwelcome contact, exposure to sexual language, explicit material, or unwanted advances and gestures. Obviously, this form of abuse is prohibited between residents and staff as well and among residents. However, as is far too common at nursing homes across the state, Westlake failed to protect one resident from the inappropriate sexual advances of another.

State officials discovered one female resident naked in her room. When asked, the resident explained that another male resident had removed her clothes and inappropriately touched her. The male resident told the vulnerable female victim that she needed to be undressed to take a bath. It was then that he exposed himself to her and made sexual contact.

The victim has a very low IQ and is in need of continuous supervision to ensure her safety. Obviously that close care was lacking in this case, as the fellow resident was able to violate the victim while alone. The aggressor was known to have previously exhibited inappropriate sexual advances, yet steps were not taken to ensure other residents were protected from his actions.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on December 07, 2010 (boomark / email).