COVID-19 Vaccines Are Showing Improvement in Illinois Nursing Home Infections
Finally, as more and more vaccines are being distributed by CVS Health and Walgreens and now received by Illinois’ most vulnerable residents against the coronavirus, the majority of the state’s 1,800 long-term care sites have now completed their first round of shots. The CDC reported on a sample of 11,460 skilled-nursing sites that while 77.8% of residents had received a dose, only 37.5% of employees received their first dose. The low number could prove to be problematic and related to inadequate worker training and education.
Nursing home residents, rehabilitation patients, and those dependents on assisted living services account for nearly half of the state’s COVID-19 deaths. The Illinois Department of Public Health recorded only 861 new cases and 85 fatalities among residents during the week ending Friday, Feb. 18. That was the lowest weekly death tally for Illinois long-term care facilities since October.
Nursing Home Care Quality Needs to Catch Up
While the vaccine news is good, the nursing home abuse and neglect legal team at Levin & Perconti continues to see an alarming number of neglect and abuse cases at Illinois nursing homes. This trend will likely continue in the coming months and years and be tied to the more significant failures and preventable challenges related to nursing home quality and staffing problems highlighted in the pandemic. Before this crisis began and even more so today, we have been working to protect nursing home residents and employees from harm related to poor-performing facilities that continue to fail to meet the quality-of-life care standards of their residents by choosing to:
- Understaff and underpay its workforce
- Fail to provide healthcare workers the tools to perform their jobs safely, such as personal protection equipment and cleaning supplies
- Lack of training and skills required to prevent the spread of infectious diseases
- Ignore hygiene and infectious disease guidelines
Sadly, even the most highly-rated facilities have been challenged by understaffed departments or ill-equipped workers who have not been trained to care for residents properly. If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccination or concerns about a nursing home facility or long-term care center not following the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations, please act quickly.
Chicago Nursing Home Attorneys for COVID-19-Related Care Problems
If you suspect mistreatment of a nursing home resident as the cause of their illness or untimely death, please contact Levin & Perconti. We take extreme pride in being one of the nation’s most recognized and respected leaders in the areas of elder abuse and nursing home negligence litigation.
Please, contact us now for a FREE and confidential consultation at 312-332-2872 in Chicago, or reach us toll-free at 1-877-374-1417.