Rockford Sun

Republican state Sen. Dave Syverson is looking for answers from Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) officials about the agency’s direction.

“One of the questions on the report is the department had mentioned that Illinois is dead last with staffing,” Syverson told Becky Dragoo, Deputy Director of the Office of Healthcare Regulation at IDPH, at a recent Senate Health Committee hearing. “On page 7 of the review that staffing is similar to peer states but below Illinois mandates. Can you help me justify where the report says similar while the department says we’re dead last?”

Dragoo explained that nursing home staffing is different from department staffing — Illinois is last among the 50 states for the former — and IDPH has launched an independent review of its Bureau of Long Term Care in the Office of Health Care Regulation, with staffers admitting the examination was prompted by a stalled probe of abuse and neglect complaints during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The review is being handled by Manatt Health Strategies, LLC, according to a state press release, with the company focusing on devising a plan to ensure proper licensure and oversight activities by the Bureau of Long-Term Care. As part of the process, IDPH has hired former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, A. Courtney Cox, to oversee complaints made concerning long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 crisis.

With the review delving into abuse and neglect complaints at long-term care facilities levied as far back as in March of 2020, Syverson also questioned Dragoo about training standards and whether staffers are being schooled in the same practices. By law, the most serious allegations must be investigated within 24 hours, and less serious allegations must be investigated within seven days, according to NPR Illinois.

“From a layman’s standpoint … if you have one division or facility that is losing when the others are winning are you more likely to close that facility that is losing and does that ultimately result on the closure of facilities in areas that need it the most?” he asked. “We can talk to the associations on how this could impact when you have a particular loser in a branch. That would be one concern.”

IDPH officials said they took immediate action to make sure all the complaints that came their way over the timeframe in question have been investigated, including taking any necessary personnel actions.

"Our top priority as a regulator of long-term care facilities in Illinois is ensuring vulnerable Illinoisans are kept safe by those responsible for their care," said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, according to NPR Illinois. "Anything short of that is unacceptable, and our entire department is committed to getting this right as we move forward. Working with independent experts, we are simultaneously conducting a full and thorough review of our previous work and revamping our Bureau of Long Term Care to better serve the people of Illinois."

According to IDPH data, the agency has conducted complaint investigations for 272 allegations of abuse and neglect that had been received between March 15 and June 30, and 17 of them were substantiated, NPR reported.