Anonymous complaints about Illinois’ nursing homes would no longer be accepted or investigated under a bill currently up for debate in the state House of Representatives.

H.B. 5601, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Mike Unes (R), would amend the state’s Nursing Home Care Act to require identifying information from people filing complaints about neglect or abuse in a nursing home. That information would be kept confidential by the Illinois Department of Public Health, but nursing home investigators would be able to contact people who filed complaints for further information.

Close to 20% of the 5,600 long-term care complaints complaints received by the department last year were filed anonymously, according to the State Journal-Register.

Unes believes prohibiting anonymous complaints may help prevent false reports “made to harass nursing homes,” as well as encourage people to provide contact information to investigators to “help the state punish and fine negligent nursing homes for bad behavior,” the Journal-Register reported. The bill is currently slated for a full House vote before moving on for consideration by the senate.

The bill has already earned backlash from nursing home resident advocates, who say Unes’ legislation doesn’t take into account the health and vulnerability of the employees, residents and family members who may file a complaint.

Under the bill, people filing complaints against nursing homes would also have to be informed of the possible criminal sanctions they face for filing false reports. Those sanctions already exist, but informing people who file complaints may make them nervous or intimidated, advocates say.

“They want people not to file complaints,” Wendy Meltzer, executive director of Illinois Citizens for Better Care, told the Journal-Register.

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For those advocates for better care … if this system worked why are we still wanting to hurt the caregivers after 30 years of enforcement and more and more policing and less and less focus on funding?

The solution for advocacy is to require that the complainant go to the facility Administrator before filing a legitimate complaint.  If it isn’t addressed then the State can intervene.  And names have to be attached to the complaint so it can truly be resolved.  If it’s a former employee complaining the State should be required to inform the facility and ask for a report on the validity of the complaint and the work history of the employee.  If it’s a family member they should be required to prove they informed the facility and there was no action taken.

I have managed and owned nursing homes for 30 + years and have found the current complaint system a sham.  It gives anyone and everyone the right to threaten the Administrator or DON for frivolous or minor misunderstandings that have to be resolved at the source not the subjective approach the regulators use to intimidate and belittle the nursing home staff.  For example the surveyors walk in unannounced slap an unnamed source letter on the Administrator’s desk.  This is done without naming the complainant or the complaint itself.  Then surveyor heads for the incident reports looking for ammunition for all residents not just the one concealed in the complaint.  No due process of law and they use tactics to find and fine without proof … then publish the allegations on the internet.

On top of this onerous system is the “self report system”  that uses illegal self incrimination (a fifth amendment violation) called entrapment forcing the caregivers to tell on themselves within 24 hours of an incident requiring documentation be submitted so the regulators can use it against the caregivers.  Nine times out of ten they will show up to belittle and fine for minor incidents.

How can negative enforcement work when there is never any positive recognition of factual quality …  just the surveyors subjective opinion of who they like and who they dislike thereby creating a flawed five star hammer in the closet approach.

If you want details on how the regulators use this so called advocacy system to create arbitrary violations and  capricious fines read my book “A Failing Government Taketh Away”.  Jerry Rhoads