Elder Law

Chicago?s Latinos Face Cultural and Financial Barriers When Accessing Quality Nursing Home Care

By Levin & Perconti

A Brown University Study shows that more than 74,000 nursing home residents have bed sores in five states with high Mexican-American populations. This study mirrors conditions in Chicago, Illinois long-term care facilities. The report concluded that residents in nursing homes with overwhelmingly Latino patient populations are more likely to suffer from bed sores than those in nursing homes with mostly while patients. Experts say that there is a very limited methodology available to understand the course of life for Latinos in the U.S. and the stress that causes high mortality rates in an older Latino population. Chicago?s Latinos tend to be quite young, thus senior care is not the foremost health concern in the community. The large number of illegal Latino immigrants creates problems when many facilities are paid by Medicare. Governor Pat Quinn stated that he will commit $1.7 billion to help repay the state?s $2 billion in overdue Medicaid bills to health care providers. To read more about the nursing home study and it?s relation to Chicago, please click the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on April 28, 2009 (boomark / email).