Do highly rated nursing homes give families a false sense of security?

quality controlYesterday I was contacted by the daughter of a nursing home patient who died after suffering a fall in the bathroom of a well-known– and highly rated– nursing home in Chicago

After several minutes of discussion about her her father’s physical condition and her recollection of safeguards that were to be implemented by the facility to prevent falls, she then began to question if the facility really did anything wrong– in light of its fine reputation.  

Sure, having a good reputation is an important thing for any business— nursing homes included– but as a patient or family member, it is important to remember that a facilities fine reputation in the past does not mean that the facility gets to automatically maintain that reputation in the future.  Further, even the most highly regarded facilities are staffed by ordinary humans— who do make mistakes when it comes to patient care.

As a lawyer who sees incidents stemming from negligent care— at both –highly rated— as well as facilities that may not have such great track records, I always suggest to families that each incident should be reviewed independently of the nursing home or hospitals rating or reputation in the community as it really has little bearing on the incident at issue.

When medical mistakes are made at more esteemed facilities– nursing home and hospitals, I do see more of these facilities recognize the error for what it is and make and effort to evaluate meritorious claims with an eye towards resolution.

The bottom line is that while a nursing home’s reputation may be excellent, it should not be a deterrent when it comes to pursuing claims involving poor care– isolated incident or not. 

Below is a list of Chicago-land nursing homes that deserve recognition for receiving a 5-star overall rating from Medicare.

CHICAGOLAND NURSING HOMES

5 STARS

 

Clare at Water Tower

55 East Pearson

Chicago, IL 60611

Little Sisters of the Poor

2325 North Lakewood Avenue

Chicago, IL 60614

Community Care

4314 South Wabash Avenue

Chicago, IL 60653

Belmont Nursing Home

1936 West Belmont Avenue

Chicago, IL 60657

Carlton at the Lake

725 West Montrose Avenue

Chicago, IL 60613

St. Paul’s House & Health Center

3800 North California Avenue

Chicago, IL 60618

Selfhelp Home of Chicago

908 West Argyle Street

Chicago, IL 60640

Bethesda Home & Retirement Center

2833 North Nordica Avenue

Chicago, IL 60634

Lincolnwood Place

7000 North McCormick Blvd.

Lincolnwood, IL 60645

Dobson Plaza

120 Dodge Avenue

Evanston, IL 60202

Gottlieb Memorial Hospital

701 West North Avenue

Melrose Park, IL 60160

The British Home

8700 West 31st Street

Brookfield, IL 60513

Norwood Crossing

6016 North Nina Avenue

Chicago, IL 60631

Resurrection Life Center

7370 West Talcott Avenue

Chicago, IL 60631

St. Benedict Nursing & Rehab

6930 West Touhy Avenue

Niles, IL 60714

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