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New Law to improve Care, Safety for Nursing
Home Residents
Illinois
Governor Signs AARP-backed Reform
Legislation
CHICAGO, July 29, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- For too long, thousands of nursing home
residents in Illinois lived in unsafe
conditions, receiving substandard care from
understaffed institutions.
But the public outcry for
reform, sprung by media exposes of
conditions in many for profit nursing homes
resulted in sweeping, AARP-backed
legislation that will greatly improve the
quality of care and safety environment for
residents.
AARP today joined with dozens
of advocacy organizations and legislators,
as Governor Pat Quinn signed into law Senate
Bill 326. The measure was sponsored by
Senators Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and
Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago), and
Representatives Barbara Flynn-Currie
(D-Chicago), and Sara Feigenholtz
(D-Chicago).
"Thousands of nursing home
residents in Illinois will be able to age
with dignity while receiving the quality of
care they need, and in the safe environment
they deserve, thanks to the much needed
reforms that this legislation brings," said
Bob Gallo, AARP Illinois Senior State
Director.
"Governor Quinn is
taking a step in the right direction by
signing this bill into law. But more remains
to be done as we implement these reforms,
namely the urgent need to address the racial
disparity issues prevalent in many Chicago
nursing homes."
Along with AARP, Illinois
Citizens for Better Care, SEIU, Next Steps
and many other advocates negotiated for
months to complete the most sweeping reforms
to nursing homes Illinois has seen.
The need for legislative
reforms arose from newspaper stories -
starting with the 2009 series from the
Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Reporter -
that shone a light on unacceptable
conditions in which thousands of seniors
live in for profit nursing homes across the
state.
The stories documented how
residents had to live with dangerous
individuals; had been physically, mentally,
and even sexually abused by other residents;
and were often given the wrong diagnosis or
wrong medications - even dangerous
anti-psychotic drugs - for their treatments.
In many of the nursing homes documented in
the series of articles, the problems were
further compounded by staffing shortages.
Illinois' for profit nursing homes currently
have the lowest staffing ratios in the
nation.
SB 326 will address these
problems by, among other things:
-- Establishing staffing
ratios that will ensure residents are
receiving
adequate staff time to
meet their needs;
-- Creating meaningful
regulations, including disincentives and
penalties
for providing bad care;
-- Providing requirements
and regulations to promote resident safety,
and
providing seniors with
a protected environment;
-- Improving the screening
process in order to protect individuals who
need nursing home care;
-- Mandating that enough
surveyors be available to provide real
accountability for
nursing homes that do not meet minimum
standards.
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Source:
AARP Illinois
