ACLU Claims Illinois Nursing Homes Use Scare Tactics to Keep Patients
The State of Illinois recently reached a court settlement that offers supportive community-based housing and treatment to about 4,500 psychiatric patients who currently reside in nursing homes. Following this settlement, the Chicago Tribune reported that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed court papers stating that Illinois for-profit nursing home operators were using scare tactics to keep psychiatric patients in their facilities, instead of letting them move into supporting community-based housing. Nursing Home operators deny these allegations and raise concerns about whether the State can provide appropriate housing for such patients.
The current argument between the ACLU and Nursing Home operators stems from the latter’s distribution of “information sheets” which, according to the ACLU, state that the court settlement purposefully lacks details” and may take away protections for people who do leave the nursing home. Specifically, the information sheets state that the settlement does not specify “where you’ll move, how you’ll pay rent, how you’ll be fed, who will help you with your medication and other medical needs, or what happens if you don’t like it and want to return [to the nursing home]”. Nursing Home operators state the “information sheets” are accurate, and that they are worried the State will not deliver on its promise to care for the psychiatric patients that move into the new community settings.
State officials responded that psychiatric patients are free to choose where they want to go, and that nursing home operators are wrong to deny that the smaller community settings may be less expensive and more therapeutic.