Elder Law

New Comprehensive Report Could Help Improve Illinois Nursing Homes

By Levin & Perconti

The best Illinois nursing homes do not simply avoid catastrophic cases of nursing home abuse and neglect. Instead, they proactively seek ways to improve the lives of their residents at all times. All those who care about the treatment of elderly friends and family members at these facilities know residents remains vibrant, active, productive members of any community. The fact that these individuals require certain special care and live in nursing homes in no way diminishes the important ways they contribute to all of our lives.

In that vein, it is important for Illinois nursing homes to undergo constant self-evaluation to perfect the care they provide to residents. Doing so requires keeping up to date on the latest best practices in the industry. For example, a new report issued as part of the On-Time Quality Improvement Program represents strategies for improving the care provided at these facilities in a variety of ways.

One of the main focuses of the report is the prevention of pressure ulcers?also known as bed sores?which remain a common problem at too many nursing homes. Every year the ulcers affect more than one million nursing home patients, requiring over $355 million in treatment. They cause a range of problems from curtailing resident mobility to death. The report suggests a variety of ways that these bed sores can be prevented. The suggestions include better use of knowledge acquired by Certified Nursing Assistants, use of health information technology practices, establishing risk identification programs, and the use of continuing resident feedback.

Also, the guidelines established in the report on pressure ulcer prevention can be used for other important areas of nursing home care. The concepts can be extrapolated when dealing with fall prevention, inpatient hospital transfers, and similar issues.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on February 12, 2011 (boomark / email).