Long-Term Care

Illinois task force handles concern over nursing home safety

Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, October 22, 2009

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The Nursing Home Safety Task Force, a group appointed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to address the placement of young adults with mental illness into nursing homes, held a four-hour hearing on October 20. The platform served as an opportunity for the task force to let its concerns be known, while allowing members of the public – which included reform advocates, industry personnel, nursing home residents, and social workers – to voice their opinions regarding the issue, according to the Chicago Tribune.

For years, Illinois has used nursing homes to house young, mentally ill felons. State background checks were intended to weed out dangerous potential residents, but episodes of violence persist. As a result, many in the Illinois long-term care industry, as well as the government, are calling for changes that would disallow the placement of mentally ill young adults into nursing homes. Currently, Prairie State nursing homes serve approximately 15,000 individuals whose primary diagnosis is mental illness.



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