The good, the bad and the fix.

The Good

A nursing home, sometimes called skilled nursing facility (SNF), or skilled nursing unit (SNU). But most of the time it is known as a rest home. A place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living. Residents include the elderly and younger adults with physical disabilities. Adults 18 or older can stay in a skilled nursing facility to receive physical, occupational, and other rehabilitative therapies following an accident or illness. My mother-in-law stayed in one going through physical therapy.

In the United States, our nursing homes are required to have a licensed nurse on duty 24 hours a day, and during at least one shift each day, one of those nurses must be a Registered Nurse.  There are approximately over 16,000 nursing homes in the United States. Some states have nursing homes that are called nursing facilities (NF), which do not have beds certified for Medicare patients, but can only treat patients whose payments source is Private Payment, Private Insurance or Medicaid.

Services provided in nursing homes include services of nurses, nursing aides and assistants; physical, occupational and speech therapists; social workers and recreational assistants; and room and board. Most care in nursing facilities is provided by certified nursing assistants, not by skilled personnel.  Some of my friends have been working in one for many years.

The Bad

I am not sure if it becoming the norm or that we have more information feed to us by the internet, well anyway there seems to be a failing to provide adequate quality care within some of our nursing homes and long-term care facilities. This could happen anywhere, several incidents have occurred in the Illinois nursing home neglect cases. These cases sprang up very quickly.


Many long-term facilities have cut budgets substantially while increasing staff levels when a heightened “total patient care” approach has been adopted and implemented. We do not want to believe that  licensed and trained staff at a nursing facility would abuse or injure their elderly loved one.  I remember my grandmothers rings got stolen or lost at a facilities. No one wants to believe, or can even fathom that trained and licensed staff at a skilled nursing facility would abuse or injure their elderly loved one. But it happens, that is when you need a Illinois nursing home negligence lawyer.

Fixing the Bad

If you or your loved one has experienced issues at a nursing facility, you might want to contact Horwitz, Horwitz and Associates, specialized chicago nursing home abuse attorneys, they are a dedicated professionals that  pursue  the dignity and quality care for residents of skilled nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Illinois. This is the part where you bring in experience help to get the assistance you need.