After months of interviews and reviewing Medicare data, Illinois Department of Public Health reports, court records and other documents, CU-CitizenAccess.org found that central Illinois homes are still accumulating steep fines and leaving residents at risk for untreated injuries, infections and medication errors.

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• Here are some of the key facts and findings:
  • In 16 Illinois counties, there are 81 nursing homes that accept government assistance under Medicare. More than 41 percent of those homes, a total of 34 facilities, are rated below what Medicare considers average.
  • Champaign County has seven nursing homes. Three of those homes are rated as one-star facilities on Medicare’s five-star rating scale.
  • Since the start of 2011, 51 nursing homes have been fined a total of about $632,000, according to Illinois Department of Public Health records.
  • In the seven Champaign County facilities, inspectors have responded to at least 114 complaints since 2011.
  • Typical violations documented in health department reports include: pressure sores, medication errors, urinary tract infections, improper use of restraints, failure to notify physicians when necessary and failure to adequately monitor a resident’s health.
  • In Champaign County alone, nursing homes have had at least nine lawsuits involving patient care filed against them since 2009. One recent lawsuit, filed against Heartland of Champaign this May, includes a wrongful death complaint.
  • Registered nurses working in Illinois long-term care facilities average spending about an hour with each resident a day. Registered nurses in the 81 central Illinois facilities CU-CitizenAccess.org looked at during this investigation average only 43 minutes.
  • In Champaign County, registered nurses spend an average of about 37 minutes a day tending to each resident. This figure excludes data from Clark-Lindsey Retirement Village, which is an above average outlier compared to state and national data.

  CU-CitizenAccess.org will continue to report on the condition of central Illinois nursing homes.

Central Illinois nursing homes plagued by violations

Central Illinois nursing homes are cited for numerous violations that lead to fines. Others are cited for serious problems and receive no fines.

In some cases, injuries and deaths result in lawsuits.

Nursing home ratings sometimes misleading

Medicare rates nursing homes on a five-star scale, which considers staffing evaluations, inspection results and the conditions of residents.

A CU-CitizenAccess.org review of 81 central Illinois nursing homes found that 40 percent are rated below average.

Understaffing hard on nursing homes, residents alike

Understaffed nursing homes often lead to problems.

Nursing home administrators said finding qualified employees is one of the most challenging aspects of their jobs.

Tips for finding a good nursing home

Finding the right nursing home for loved ones can be a difficult and stressful task.

Read advice from nursing home advocates and administrators and learn what you should look for. Browse through a list of online tools that helps evaluate nursing home care. And, when things go bad, learn how you can file a formal complaint.

Inspectors find negligence, abuse in central Illinois nursing homes

Pressure sores, medication errors and unanswered call lights are common violations throughout central Illinois nursing homes. Negligence, injury and abuse are more serious examples.

Read through some of the more serious violations and see if the nursing home was fined.

Warning: Some of the examples are graphic.

Husband’s treatment prompts wrongful death lawsuit

Gerald Warmbier was 71 years old when he died about three months after checking in at Heartland of Champaign.

A state inspection of the facility that focused on Warmbier’s stay documented instances of medication errors and failures to monitor his fluid intake.

His wife filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home in May 2014.