Generations Nursing Homes Offer Residents Individualized Care Plans, Fails to Provide Even Basic Care
With 1 in 3 nursing home residents suffering some form of abuse during their residency, it’s a crime that touches many American families each year. The potential to affect more is set to rise as an increasing number of Baby Boomers enter their later years.
By the year 2050, 20% of Americans will be over the age of 65, and many will need late-life care. Unfortunately, unless government regulations and oversight tighten on nursing homes soon, the number of senior citizens being abused by nursing home staff will likely continue to increase.
Why is elder abuse so common in nursing homes and similar care facilities? It has to do with the main motivations behind these businesses. Right now, the main driver behind nursing home care is money, with many facilities achieving a 20-30% profit margin.
In recent years, investors have noticed the increased demand for elder care and have bought out assisted living networks and facilities with the goal of making money. While savvy in their finances, they aren’t so knowledgeable or concerned with healthcare. The quality of care provided at these facilities quickly plummets under new ownership.
One way that new owners increase their return on investment is by cutting staffing costs. A study from 2001 found that for-profit nursing homes had on average 32% fewer nurses and consequently 47% more deficiencies in care than their non-profit counterparts. In facilities like these, professional nursing care is often replaced by less skilled CNAs or other employees who receive lower wages. Alternatively, a facility looking to cut costs might keep staff numbers low in general, placing more pressure on the existing staff to care for a large number of residents.
When ratios of staff to residents are too high, neglect and abuse become rampant. Overworked staff becomes incapable of meeting every resident’s needs and begin to cut corners on tasks or make dangerous mistakes. Unqualified staff tries to perform tasks they are not trained to do or overlook important protocol and best practices entirely. The stress brings out the worst in unethical staff who may lash out against defenseless residents.
Overburdened management may fail to properly vet new employees and hire predatory staff. Meanwhile, the owners hide behind shell companies and subsidiaries created for the purpose of avoiding accountability when complaints are filed and the law gets involved. It’s a recipe for disaster, and too many helpless residents find themselves in this kind of nightmare every year.
Taking a Closer Look at the Generations Healthcare Network
It’s often not until a vulnerable senior sustains serious harm at a nursing home that their family learns of the neglect and abuse they’ve been suffering at the hands of staff. That’s why Levin & Perconti regularly reviews and shares nursing home data so families can be aware of the risks of elder care abuse in assisted living and learn how to prevent and report it.
We’ve been at the frontlines of elder abuse in Illinois for years. We are appalled by the number of assisted living networks that fail to live up to basic standards of care. One such offender is the Generations HealthCare Network.
Generations operates five facilities in Illinois that offer a variety of elder care services, including short-term rehabilitation, nursing, independent living, long-term care, and hospice care.
- Generations at Applewood
- Generations at Columbus Park
- Generations at Elmwood Park
- Generations at Lincoln
- Generations at McKinley Place
- Generations at Neighbors
- Generations at Oakton
- Generations at Peoria
- Generations at Regency
- Generations at Riverview
- Generations at Rock Island
The Generations network emphasizes its practice of providing individualized care plans for each resident that are reviewed and updated quarterly to address problems and ensure goals are met. One wonders how effective this practice is considering the network’s poor ratings.
While it’s common to have outliers–good or bad–amongst facilities in a network, the facilities owned by Generations have consistently low ratings between the different locations. All show signs of poor staffing practices, as many for-profit nursing homes do.
Life in a Generations Nursing Home
Of course, every healthcare facility will advertise itself in a positive light, but unfortunately, good marketing is all too often a cover up for poor performance when it comes to Illinois nursing homes like those owned by Generations. This performance is best measured by ratings issued by Medicare. Medicare gives these ratings to certified nursing homes for the categories of health inspections, staffing, and quality measures.
Levin & Perconti has noticed that facilities with low staffing ratings tend to also struggle with health inspections. Medicare’s staffing ratings look at the ratio of staff to residents and how much time they spend with residents compared to national averages. Health inspection ratings are based on the number and type of deficiencies found during health inspections. These reports can be read for individual nursing homes at medicare.org.
The Generations facilities all received dismally poor ratings for staffing and health inspections, with none receiving higher than an Average three-star rating for staffing. Even more disconcerting, all five received a Below Average two-star rating or worse for health inspections.
Many of the deficiencies noted in the public health inspection reports are common among facilities with poor staffing practices and put residents at risk for serious harm or even death, as well as subject them to less than dignified living standards.
Recent health inspection documents show that employees at Generations facilities failed to provide proper pressure ulcer care, update care plans to prevent falls, assist residents with hygiene and grooming, and satisfy individual needs for preferred foods and activities. These are only a few of the many infractions reported that put vulnerable residents in harm’s way and fail to treat them in a respectful manner.
Nursing Home and Elder Abuse Cases Handled by Levin & Perconti
While neglect and abuse can occur at any nursing home, it is far more common at certain facilities where adequate staffing is not made a priority. If you have reason to believe you or a loved one has suffered abuse at the hands of an irresponsible elder care facility, know that help is available.
The attorneys at Levin & Perconti are renown throughout Illinois as champions of nursing home residents. We’ve represented elder abuse victims and their families in a wide array of cases, some including
- Alzheimer’s and Other Forms of Dementia
- Bed Sores, Pressure Sores, and Decubitus Ulcers
- Burns
- Choking
- Clogged Breathing Tubes
- Elder Abuse
- Falls
- Malnutrition and Dehydration
- Medication Errors
- Physical or Chemical Restraints
- Physical and Sexual Assault or Abuse
- Sepsis
- Wandering and Elopement from Facilities
- Infections
Every case we’ve handled was preventable, and we will continue fighting for the rights of abused nursing home victims for as long as these facilities continue to fail in upholding their promises of professional, compassionate care. If you or a loved one has sustained a personal injury at one of the Generations facilities or any other Illinois nursing home, Levin & Perconti will fight for you, too. Our attorneys have a proven history of winning million-dollar verdicts and settlements, and we can win for you too.
If you have questions about how Levin & Perconti can help you take a dangerous nursing home to court and win justice for an abuse victim, contact us at Levin & Perconti online or call us at 877-374-1417 for a free confidential consultation with one of our expert elder abuse attorneys.
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During that time, my family and I suffered the loss of my mother. Mr. Levin and Mr. Perconti were more than just our lawyers. Words can’t really express our gratitude.
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During that time, my family and I suffered the loss of my mother. Mr. Levin and Mr. Peconti were more than just our lawyers. Words can’t really express our gratitude. My family and I will always be grateful for the compassion that they showed us. I want to thank you for what you did for my family, and for always being there for us.
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Legally Reviewed by
Steven M. Levin
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