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* This team coverage Tribune story has troubling news…
Nearly 300 Illinois nursing home patients and staff have died from COVID-19, but exactly where still remains largely cloaked in secrecy.
Unlike some states, Illinois hasn’t named specific facilities where the virus has been detected. That’s been true even in cases of significant clusters of deaths.
Several other states do publish those lists.
* Nursing homes are not required to report cases and deaths to family members or employees. But they do have to report the data to the state. IDPH, however, is only releasing totals to the public…
As of Thursday, in Illinois, the Pritzker administration reported 587 patients and nursing home staffers who tested positive, at a total of 305 nursing homes. At least facilities have had at least one patient or staffer die.
That’s almost 42 percent of all nursing homes in Illinois with positive cases and 17 percent with reported deaths.
Most counties aren’t releasing that information, either.
* A Tribune reporter asked IDPH Director Ngozi Ezike about this yesterday. Her reply…
We’re working on getting information out regarding the nursing homes. I think there might be some delays in keeping up with that but working on that in terms of our approach to dealing with really one of our most vulnerable populations.
* The Tribune followed up…
A department spokesman later told the Tribune the agency was “working on compiling a listing of the locations,” which it hoped to provide “as soon as possible.”
Look, IDPH is stretched to the max. A year of partial rebuilding undoubtedly wasn’t enough to fill in the hollowed-out organization. But this isn’t a matter of reaching out to nursing homes to gather data. The information is already supposedly being reported to the state. Families, residents and workers need to know what the heck going on.
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 10:13 am
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I personally know several people who left IDPH under Rauner years.
Remember when the governor released an initial report about how Rauner wrecked the division of OSHA for the state…well he did the same at EPA and public health and now we are suffering more than we need to.
I bet Rauner goes to sleep at night thinking he actually improved this state.
Comment by The Dude Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 10:29 am
It’s not just the nursing homes, but we haven’t heard anything from the state developmental center located in our city.
Comment by Wensicia Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 10:46 am
this is just the tip of the iceberg. What about the significant increase in “at home” deaths where no pathology is being down. Statistics will tell you a 2-4x increase = something significant like COVID-19 is in play. This is a problem here and all over. How do we “protect” ourselves if info is being without or purposely ignored?
Comment by truthteller Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 10:48 am
“* Nursing homes are not required to report cases and deaths to family members or employees.”
If a family member is the health proxy for a resident, then they d*mn sure should be told. And if that health proxy requests a test, that should also be done. I’m aware of the nightmare long-term care facilities are facing, and the fear of increased liabilities, but shutting out the family is not the way to go.
Comment by Anon221 Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 10:48 am
IDPH is in a tough place. They get confidential personal health data because the law says you have to give it to them. Those same laws say what can be given out and to whom. The disclosure laws don’t say - release anything that is interesting or important. They balance privacy interests with the public interest. I’m sure they’ll release as much as they’re allowed to.
Comment by Rasselas Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 11:33 am
So wont the death certificate state cause of death? If the loved one was in a Nursing Home, family would know these Death Certificates are provided to family from Funeral Homes…..just sayin
Comment by Busy Not 1 Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 11:42 am
It’s not just nursing homes; it’s all congregate care facilities, and the bigger problem is at the local level. IDPH said yesterday, it would start providing some info at the daily briefing, but local counties are adamant in their refusals to release local information about infections in local nursing homes, group homes, medical facilities, jails, and juvenile facilities. It’s not just State IDPH’s burden to provide this info, and the local resistance isn’t based on concern for local welfare but a concern that full disclosure might lead to civil unrest. The lack of trust they are building however, at the local level in their attempt to maintain control, won’t help them going forward as this emergency continues and if it resumes again in the future after it subsides this time. Ultimately, the public will learn what local officials are hiding and know that the lack of disclosure didn’t help public safety.
Comment by Anon Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 12:02 pm
Agree with Anon….what are they hiding?
Comment by Busy Not 1 Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 12:29 pm
Busy Not 1- In regards to a Death Certificate- a COVID-19 related death can easily be ignored if there may have been another underlying condition such as cancer, diabetes, heart condition, etc., all of which may have been exacerbated by the virus. If no testing was done pre or post mortum for the virus, then how would a family member know?
Comment by Anon221 Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 12:44 pm
My daughter is director of nursing at a central Illinois nursing home. No infections there yet, thank goodness. But she opines that while hospitals are seen by the public as “heroic” during this pandemic, nursing homes are vilified. I guess that goes with the territory. People go to hospitals to get better, and they go to nursing homes to…. Health care is a tough job always, especially now. Nursing homes have so many residents in their 70s, 80s and 90s — the most vulnerable age cohort. Most are chronically ill. They are crowded and it’s difficult to keep residents from mingling. They are largely reimbursed via Medicaid, which is limited. The CNAs who do much of the grunt work are not exactly well paid. All of this does not excuse those facilities that fail to be accountable. But working and living in a nursing home has to be the worst of places to be these days.
Comment by up2now Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 12:50 pm
Anon221-There is a great article for discussion on utube by Montana physician Dr. Annie Bukacek on how the COVID-19 Death Certificates are being manipulated, might want to take the time to view, its interesting
Comment by Busy Not 1 Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 3:33 pm
Busy- Read her interview on the Global Research site after Googling her. And when I read a quote from her like this one, sorry, would not be choosing her as my doctor, or taking medical advice from he either.
“So there’s COVID 19 virus might be as common as is the common wart virus. We don’t really know.”
Comment by Anon221 Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 4:08 pm
More on Dr. Bukacek. Sorry, Busy, not buying what she’s “prescribing”.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/anti-vax-doctor-covid-19-death-certificates-984407/amp/
Comment by Anon221 Friday, Apr 17, 20 @ 4:21 pm