Elder Law

Illinois Nursing Home Changes Look

By Levin & Perconti

Sunny Hill Nursing Home in Joliet, Illinois is changing its facility to allow their residents more independence. Schedules that once were set in stone are now more flexible and accommodating. The residents can decide when to wake up, when to bathe, when to exercise and what to eat. Usually nursing homes run like hospitals, where residents had cemented routines, were sometimes heavily medicated or physically restrained to avoid disruption, and had few choices about how to live out their years. The transformation under way is part of a national reshaping of nursing homes to make needs and preferences of residents central to operations. Legions of health-care advocates have pushed for more nursing homes to adapt these practices. A study released show that a third of the country?s 16,000 nursing homes have adopted cultural-change practices and another quarter of the homes are moving in that direction. The federal government is also urging a change in the way nursing homes are run. To read more about the Illinois change, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on February 06, 2009 (boomark / email).