Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

The Chicago Tribune reported attorney general Lisa Madigan called for nursing home reform in Illinois and instructed nursing homes to “beef up inspections and improve record keeping of criminal activity,” in order to protect elderly and disabled citizens from mentally ill felons who live in the same facilities (David Jackson and Gary Marx, 10/8). She called for the nursing homes to work with the state police to perform an immediate review of the criminal history of every felon currently residing in a nursing home so that they can be appropriately monitored. Despite being required by law, these reviews are the target of reform because they have been inadequate by overlooking or downplaying violent crimes.

Madigan, who supported the 2006 state law requiring criminal background screenings for all new nursing home admissions, is encouraging the health department and state police to inspect problematic nursing homes, and is further urging the health department to “hault the operations of facilities that fail to comply with patient protection laws.” Governor Pat Quinn’s office announced the first meeting of the new Nursing Home Safety Task Force, which was formed in response to the Tribune Series, Compromised Care, for Thursday October 8, 2009.

As a nursing home abuse and neglect lawyer, I am pleased to see the actions taken by the Illinois government to address the widespread problem of patient safety. Adequate background checks prior to nursing home admissions are critical to maintaining patient safety, and as such should be monitored thoroughly.