In the last post, our Chicago nursing home abuse attorney outlined the importance of nursing home regulations. In this post, we’ll discuss the inspection process in more detail. The following information about Illinois nursing home inspections comes from the Illinois Department of Health.
“Illinois, which has approximately 200 surveyors, employs a team concept in inspecting nursing homes. Teams consist of a registered professional nurse (RN), a nutritionist and an environmental health practitioner. On some inspections, the teams may be joined by other professionals, such as life safety code experts. Complaint surveys are conducted by surveyors with expertise is the area involved in the allegations of the complaint.
“Illinois’ licensure surveys are generally conducted on-site over a three- to four-day period during which the state’s inspection teams evaluate all aspects of resident care and nursing home procedures and practices, assessing facility compliance with more than 1,500 specific state and federal standards. Samples of specific areas of care reviewed include resident rights, access to care, activities, assessment and care plans, health care and dietary services, housekeeping, staffing, quality of care and quality assurance.
“The Department’s evaluation may include an inspection of medical records, observation of resident care, inspection of all areas of the nursing home, and interviews of residents, family members, staff or other individuals. The Department also may evaluate the quality of resident care through an analysis of statistical data reported by nursing homes or by a review of reportable event information or other notices filed with IDPH. Reportable events include administrator or director of nursing personnel changes; interruptions of three or more hours of services essential to the health and safety of residents; alleged or suspected crimes investigated at the facility by police; and all fires, disasters, deaths or other risks to resident life or health resulting form accidents or incidents at the facility.
“Inspections in response to complaints are generally shorter in duration than licensure surveys and focus primarily on those areas of resident care alleged to be at fault. If, during the course of a complaint investigation, additional problems are uncovered, a full on-site inspection may be initiated.
“Nursing homes are inspected at least once every six to 15 months. The state average is once every 12 months. Nursing home inspections, whether standard or in response to complaints, are conducted without notice to the facility. Survey schedules are changed annually to make it difficult for facilities to anticipate when inspections will be conducted. Generally, facilities with poor surveys and numerous verified complaints are surveyed more frequently than facilities with deficiency-free surveys.
“Long-term care surveys are typically conducted on weekdays although survey teams can and have conducted inspections at night, on weekends and during holidays.
“At the conclusion of each inspection, the Department’s findings are shared with nursing home administrative staff in an exit interview and are included in a survey report that is forwarded to the facility. If the Department has determined that the nursing home failed to comply with all applicable state and federal licensure standards, the facility will be cited for deficiencies.”
You have the right to view your nursing home’s state inspections, say Illinois nursing home negligence lawyers. If you have questions about inspections or nursing home regulations, or believe your facility is in violation, contact a Chicago nursing home abuse attorney today.
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