Regarding
Future of Illinois Nursing Home Care
CHICAGO —
Representatives of the Illinois
Council on Long Term Care, an
association of nursing home
professionals, will present a series
of innovative ideas and
recommendations for improving the care
of Illinois’ elderly citizens during
a series of "Senior Summits"
sponsored by House Speaker Michael
Madigan. The Illinois Council’s
groundbreaking report, "Visions
for the Future: Transforming Nursing
Home Care in Illinois," addresses
three key areas for change: improving
staffing at Illinois nursing homes,
creating smaller and more home-like
facilities, and developing programs to
better meet residents' health and
quality of life needs.
"As our report
demonstrates, we are committed to
continuously improving nursing home
services in Illinois," states
Terry Sullivan, executive director for
the Illinois Council. "The
members of the Illinois Council want
to strengthen their partnerships with
the state's leaders and stakeholders
in long-term care to better meet the
needs of the elderly through
implementing the recommendations in
the report and developing other
initiatives."
The report is intended
to help frame the dialogue on actions
that can be taken to more fully
integrate nursing homes into the
continuum of home- and community-based
care for seniors. Most of the
recommendations require no extra
spending by the state.
Key recommendations in
the report that will be addressed
during the summits include:
-
Enable seniors
to live at home and receive
community-based health care
whenever possible, with nursing
homes focused primarily on
providing higher-level skilled
nursing and rehabilitation
services;
-
Establish a
single referral center in each
community to coordinate
placements among hospitals,
nursing homes, assisted living
facilities and home health
agencies;
-
Develop more
home-like settings in nursing
homes, with private resident
rooms whenever possible;
-
Help solve the
state's fiscal crisis through a
nursing home licensing fee that
generates millions of dollars in
federal matching funds;
-
Overcome the
nursing and caregiver shortage
through career ladder programs
and nursing scholarships;
-
Create an
incentive program to reward
progressive Medicaid facilities
that invest in innovative
approaches to resident care;
-
Certify nursing
homes based on their
specialties, such as Alzheimer's
care, cardiac care, and wound
care, to help consumers make
informed choices in selecting a
facility;
-
Develop resident
and family satisfaction surveys,
and share these results with the
public through the Internet or
by publishing a consumer guide;
and
-
Focus the public
health inspection of care system
on the real results of care
residents receive, with less
emphasis on hundreds of survey
items that don't impact resident
well being.
Speaker Madigan is
hosting this series of Senior Summits
at more than two dozen locations
around the state to discuss the future
of long-term care in Illinois. State
lawmakers plan to use the results of
the summits to shape future
legislation that will benefit the
state's elderly.
The Illinois Council
on Long Term Care is an association of
nursing home professionals
representing 210 facilities employing
27,000 staff members who serve more
than 39,000 residents. Further
information on long-term care issues
can be found at the Council's Web site
at www.nursinghome.org.
# # #
For a complete copy of
"Visions for the Future:
Transforming Nursing Home Care in
Illinois" report, please
visit www.nursinghome.org/visionsforthefuture.htm.
