October 14, 2021 – The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is issuing recommendations for improving the safety and care of nursing home residents.
The report is the result of nearly 18 months of review and calls for some major reforms. The pandemic has further highlighted dangers and inequalities in the system says HFS Medicaid administrator Kelly Cunningham. Recommendations for change include increased funding, especially to help hire more workers and offer better pay to reduce turnover.
Cunningham says they also want to move to a “patient-driven payment model” in hopes of motivating nursing homes to offer higher levels of care. The report also focuses on ending inequalities in the nursing home system, noting that black and brown residents are twice as likely to live in a facility that is understaffed and overcrowded. Cunningham noted that there are three to four people in a single room in some cases, and the pandemic hit minority residents especially hard.
