Nursing Home Workers Protest Elder Abuse

In an effort to push nursing home owners to invest more in resources to improve resident care, more than 2,000 nursing home workers recently held simultaneous pickets at 50 nursing homes across the state of Illinois.

According to SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana, the nursing home employees volunteered for the picket to demonstrate a need for nursing home owners to not prioritize profits over investing in resources to improve resident care.

“Persistent quality care concerns – short staffing, supply shortages, worker turnover -- have dogged numerous homes in the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities (IAHCF), particularly since the State of Illinois implemented historic 2010 staffing legislation,” a press release for the picket read.

The nursing home employees recommended IAHCF nursing home owners invest some of the cumulative $50.5 million they made in profits during 2011 to “raise standards at their homes, reduce staff turnover by raising wages and provide adequate staffing levels.”

"We're understaffed, which means residents can't get the quality of care and attention they need and excessive workloads exhaust the caregivers as they do their best to meet the needs of the residents," said Lavern Harper, a licensed practical nurse at Rainbow Beach Nursing Home in Chicago who took part in the picket.

If you or a loved one has been victimized by nursing home abuse or neglect, there may be legal action worth pursuing. Call Sokolove Law today to learn more about possibly launching a nursing home abuse lawsuit.

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