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Many families are faced with the ultimate decision of placing their loved one in long-term care centers and skilled bed communities, who are usually at an extremely vulnerable stage in their life. The quality of care provided in many of these facilities raise specific ethical questions and concerns over abuse, mistreatment, and neglect. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represent individuals harmed by caregivers and residents while living in Illinois skilled bed centers like Christian Buehler Memorial Home.
Christian Buehler Memorial Home
This Center is a ‘not for profit’ 78-certified-bed Home providing cares to residents of Peoria and Peoria County, Illinois. The skilled-bed Facility is located at:
3415 North Sheridan Road
Peoria, Illinois 61604
309-685-6236
The non-profit life care retirement community in Peoria provides long-term care in a residential setting, offering numerous activities including wellness, cultural, spiritual and social programs.
Peoria Long Term Care Home Resident Safety Concerns
Families can visit Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH – ltc.dph.illinois.gov) to review a comprehensive list of all safety concerns, health violations, incident inquiries, opened investigations and filed complaints. The regularly updated information can be used to make a well-informed decision on which LTC facilities in the community provide the highest level of care. The Peoria County abuse and neglect attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC have viewed serious safety concerns, deficiencies and violations at all Illinois skilled bed care homes.
The Need for Extended Care
Over the next 15 years, many more individuals in the aging population will be entering their retirement years. In the United States, this number is expected to reach over 70 million men and women requiring care outside their homes. Skilled-bed communities, long-term care facilities, and nursing homes provide ongoing care and assistance that include prompting with the resident’s ADLs (activities of daily living). This could include bathing, toileting, dressing, transferring (to and from a bed to wheelchair) and incidental ADLs (activities of daily living) such as managing their finances, transportation, housekeeping, and laundry.
Even though the medical field, nursing industry, and federal/state governments have made important strides in establishing changes in delivering high-quality long-term and skilled nursing care, much of these improvements in quality are tied to costs. There are two specific categories of long-term care residents that include:
- Disabled and/or Recovering Residents – Categorizing a resident as disabled can encompass numerous physical, psychosocial and cognitive impairments that debilitate the resident from one or more of their major life activities. While the improvements in health care have decreased mortality, the disabled population is now living longer, increasing the need for ongoing long-term care. In addition, many health care home residents are housed in the facility as a halfway point from hospital to home after having surgery the requires an extensive recovery time.
- Frail Residents – Many individuals residing in nursing facilities, skilled bed communities, and long-term care centers are older frail adults suffering from any combination of chronic (ongoing) medical conditions that could include Alzheimer’s, dementia, heart or respiratory condition. Others reside in these communities because they require around-the-clock assistance with their ADL (activities of daily living) due to some physical or mental deterioration. Frailty as a part of the aging process typically refers to residents who are 85 years or older.
When Considering Long-Term Care
Before choosing a facility, it is important to perform due diligence while researching available skilled bed homes in the community. Specific questions to consider before making a choice include:
- If my loved one believes they are losing their autonomy by transferring into the facility, what actions will the staff members and employees perform to avoid this concern?
The staff should make a concerted effort to ensure that the resident and family members are provided the opportunity to speak candidly about specific wishes and their desire to continue making decisions as the level of care they will receive for as long as possible. When the time comes for the resident no longer has the capacity to make significant modifications to their daily routine, the staff can still accommodate smaller modifications, such as lowering the resident’s bed or changing a mealtime to provide the resident a sense of control over some portion of their life.
- Can families or doctors involuntarily admit an elderly individual into the facility?
No resident should be admitted to a facility without appropriate consent. The consent must be obtained either from the patient or their legal decision-maker which could be a surrogate, legal responsible party, or guardian. There are times elderly individuals must be admitted to a facility due to some ambiguous circumstance. As an example, an adult child of a resident may have been admitted to a nursing facility without proper authorization. However, in general, this should not be allowed.
Peoria Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Lawyers
If you have suspicions that your loved one was injured or harmed while residing at Christian Buehler Memorial Home, contact Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC. Our skilled Peoria attorneys have years of experience in representing victims of mistreatment, neglect, and abuse.
We urge you to contact our Peoria County elder abuse law office at (888) 424-5757 to schedule your appointment today. Speak with one of our experienced lawyers to determine your legal options during a comprehensive, no-obligation case review at no charge to you. There is no need to make an upfront payment because we accept all nursing home claims for compensation on contingency.
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