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Preface

Why Did We Write This Guide?

Our law firm helps families every day to cope with problems caused by nursing home abuse and neglect. We prepared this guide to help families avoid facilities where their loved one could be at risk of mistreatment and to assist families in moving a loved one to a safer environment if harm has already occurred.

Who Is This Guide For?

We wrote this guide for the thousands of families throughout Illinois who face the difficult decision of whether to move a father, mother or other elderly relative into a nursing home. This guide can help families to find a facility that will respect their loved one’s rights and provide the care and attention he or she deserves.

How To Use This Guide?

You can use this guide to identify the right nursing home for your family. You can also learn how to recognize and respond to abuse and neglect, including reporting it, taking legal action and, ultimately, finding a new home for your loved one.

1 Introduction

Illinois' population is getting older

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More than 13.5 percent of Illinois' residents are age 65 or older. Today, families across the state must make the choice of a moving a loved one to a nursing home.

Not all nursing homes are safe

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State health officials respond to thousands of complaints every year about the treatment of nursing home residents and investigate hundreds of potential violations of state and federal regulations.

Families need information

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We provide access to numerous resources that help families to make nursing home choices, including reviews and ratings. You can decide which homes to visit.

Finding the right nursing home is possible

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We offer a checklist to help you evaluate a facility. These considerations cover everything from a nursing home's staffing levels to its security system.

Open Section 1: Introduction

2 Recognizing Nursing Home
Abuse and Neglect

Families must be vigilant

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Abuse and neglect occurs in nursing homes throughout Illinois – even in facilities that families thought were safe. You must always check for signs of mistreatment.

Look for signs of neglect

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Neglect is the failure of a nursing home to provide the care and attention that a resident deserves – possibly in violation of state and federal laws.

Look for signs of abuse

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Abuse is reckless or intentional harm inflicted on nursing home residents. We show you how to identify signs of potential physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Get needed guidance

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Throughout our guide, we provide the medical and legal insights from members of our legal team, including an attorney with a professional nursing background.

Open Section 2: Know your Rights

3 Responding to Nursing Home
Abuse and Neglect

Know when to act

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By following our guidance on how to identify nursing home abuse and neglect, you will know when it is time to take action and protect your loved one.

Protect your loved one’s rights

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We explain the legal rights of nursing home residents and their families, which are guaranteed by state and federal laws. Those rights must be respected.

Report suspected mistreatment

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If you believe your loved one is being abused or neglect, you can follow our step-by-step breakdown of how to report it to the proper authorities.

Seek justice

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We explain the administrative, criminal and civil actions that may be taken against a nursing home that has mistreated your loved one or other residents.

Recover for your losses

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We explain the process that is involved with pursuing a lawsuit against a negligent or abusive nursing home – helping you to decide if this option is right for you.

Find a safer home

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Our guide can help you to transition your loved one to a new facility where your loved one’s health and safety will be a top priority of the home’s staff.

Get involved

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Learn more about elderly care issues, get involved in your area and support laws that protect nursing home residents and improve the quality of care they receive.

Open Section 3: Responsibilities
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Respect. Recognition. Results.