Elder Law

Chicago Nursing Home to Close by Friday

By Levin & Perconti

According to the Chicago Tribune, Somerset Place in Chicago will officially close on Friday, and the state must transfer Somerset's remaining residents. The closure comes after Medicaid funding was cut off and the Illinois Department of Public Health revoked Somerset's funding after inspections revealed rampant nursing home abuse and neglect. Somerset Place nursing home and its owner, Eric Rothner, have received attention in the media due to an investigation by the Tribune that revealed a number of incidents of resident abuse and neglect. The population at Somerset Place is entirely made up of residents suffering from mental illnesses.

Rothner owns a number of nursing homes throughout Illinois, including the management company Care Centers, Inc. Care Centers declared bankruptcy recently, but was managing Somerset up until bankruptcy was declared. Care Centers, Inc. is the subject of a number of nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits, however it is questionable whether the victims will ever see compensation. The company still owes $400,000 to a former employee after a jury found that Care Centers denied her leave benefits.

Despite this debt, the Tribune reports that Rothner received payments of $900,000 from Care Centers, Inc. in the year before the management company filed for bankruptcy. A judge called this a "deliberate attempt to conceal and divert assets to avoid paying the judgment."

The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti have filed a number of lawsuits against Care Centers, Inc. and homes owned by Rothner. If you suspect that your loved on has suffered injury or death as a result of nursing home abuse and neglect in a Care Centers home, please contact our office. We will be happy to discuss your legal options with you.

According to the IDPH's Nursing Homes in Ilinois website, Rothner owns a number of Illinois homes, including:
? Briar Place
? Bryn Mawr Care
? Concord Extended Care
? Countryside Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
? Hillcrest Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
? Bella Vista Care Center
? Avenue Care Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
? Prairie Village Healthcare Center
? Boulevard Care Nursing & Rehabilitation
? Park House Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
? Elmwood Care
? Rainbow Beach Care Center
? Westshire Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
? Wheaton Care Center
? Wilson Care
? South Suburban Rehabilitation Center

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on March 11, 2010 (boomark / email).