Heddington Oaks, a new nursing home in Peoria County, Illinois, is now able to set an official move-in date. The nursing home officially opened a few months ago, but problems with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) kept the nursing home from accepting new residents.
Specifically, the nursing home had no adequate evacuation plan, and lacked the outdoor floodlights that are required for nursing homes in case a resident is lost or missing.
New nursing homes are always a welcome sign, but it’s disconcerting that the owners and administrators of Heddington Oaks were not adequately prepared for the well-known and long-standing regulations that the Illinois Department of Public Health requires.
The retirement of the baby boomer generation will inevitably lead to a large increase in the nursing home population. Hopefully, the Heddington Oaks staff will be better prepared to deal with the other problems normally associated with a new nursing home.
Staff and residents will require a long period of getting to know each other. Staffing during the first weeks and months of a new nursing home needs to be plentiful. Each resident has their own personality, and accommodations will need to be made for that.
Nutritional requirements and meals, as well as special care for vulnerable residents, will need to be established. Families of new residents should make every effort to visit frequently during these first months. Getting to know the staff that take care of your loved one is an important step in keeping them safe.
If you have a loved one in an Illinois nursing home, and you feel they have been the victim of nursing home neglect or nursing home abuse, contact our Chicago nursing home lawyers for a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
At the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle we have the experience and expertise to manage every aspect of you Chicago nursing home neglect lawsuit, and we never charge a fee unless we earn a recovery for you.