I spend a lot of time talking with families regarding the selection of an initial nursing home for a family member or perhaps transferring the person from one nursing home to another. Soon into our discussion, I see mild mannered people become downright angry when discussing the problems they encounter when selecting a facility. Most… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: staffing levels
Less Patients, Happier Staff, Healthier Patients. Research Shows Less May Acutally Be More When It Comes To Patient Loads For Nurses
Posted in Nursing Home StaffWithout proper staffing, even the most modern nursing homes are nothing more than buildings with beds. Knowledgeable and plentiful staff has always appeared to improve patient morale, but a new study determines that added staff may actually save lives. The Journal of Health Services Research compared the outcomes from 1.1 million people who had general… Continue Reading
Are Nursing Homes Required To Have Certain Numbers Of Staff?
Posted in Frequently Asked Questions"Are nursing homes required to have certain numbers of staff" -Edward, Highland Park, IL Illinois does not require a specific staff to patient ratio for Illinois nursing home facilities. The responsibility lies on each facility to determine the staffing needs to meet the needs of its residents. (Section 300.1230 – Staffing) The Administrative Code requires… Continue Reading
Even After Repeated Tragedies, Alden Wentworth Nursing Home Refuses To Hire Additional Staff To Assist Patients
Posted in Alden Nursing Homes, Illinois Nursing HomesOn May 4, 2009, Bennie Saxon, a veteran suffering from dementia who was a resident at the Alden Wentworth Rehabilitation and Health Care Center fell four stories to his death. The Alden facility is a large 300 bed, predominately black nursing home facility located in Chicago’s South Side. According to the government’s Medicare website, the… Continue Reading
Nursing Home Spotlight: St. Martha Manor
Posted in Illinois Nursing HomesSt. Martha Manor is a smaller 57 bed nursing home located in the north side of Chicago. According to the government’s Medicare website, the facility received only one out of five stars, which is a much below average rating. In the past year, the nursing home had seven health deficiencies, which is one less than… Continue Reading
Blacks Receive Inferior Care At Most Nursing Homes
Posted in Alden Nursing Homes, National Nursing Home IssuesA very informative, and frankly disheartening, investigative article on race in Chicago Nursing Homes was recently published in The Chicago Reporter. The article’s author, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, concluded that black nursing home residents received inferior care compared to their counterparts in predominately white facilities– even when the facilities were owned by the same person. Lowenstein… Continue Reading
Nursing Homes Notified Of Their ‘Five Star’ Ratings Today
Posted in Selecting a Nursing HomeLetters notifying nursing home operators of their facilities rating, according to a new CMS ‘five star’ system, were mailed today. Beginning on December 18th, the public will be able to access individual nursing home’s ratings on the CMS website ‘Nursing Home Compare.’ In addition to learning about the nursing home’s actual rating on a five… Continue Reading