Little Sisters of the Poor

Little Sisters of the Poor, 2325 North Lakewood Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614

Little Sisters of the Poor is located on Chicago’s North Side in the Lakeview neighborhood. The facility has 76 certified beds and participates in Medicaid. Its overall rating is above average. It does very well in staffing. About every fifteen months Illinois nursing homes are inspected by the Department of Health and Human Services. A survey was completed on July 17, 2015 that leveled several deficiencies on this nursing home. The facility failed to develop a care plan for assistive equipment for one resident out of four who were reviewed. In addition, it was reported that one resident had fallen resulting in a shoulder fracture.

Based on the record review and interview it was found that the facility failed to follow its fall with injury policy and that it failed to review and revise the care plan for residents who were fall risks. In another observation it was found that Little Sisters of the Poor failed to follow its pain policy and assess, evaluate, monitor and document pain for one of its residents. Another resident was found to have fallen multiple times and as a result of one fall fractured the right wrist. There was no investigation documented as to the root cause of the fall. On July 17, 2015 it was noted that it was the responsibility of the facility to keep the residents safe. Little Sisters of the Poor has an undated policy on fall protection and a requirement that falls be investigated.

In the staffing category Little Sisters of the Poor did very well in that registered nurses attended to residents on average for one hour, 21 minutes each day. Licensed practice nurses and licensed vocational nurses were with residents on 30 minutes per day, per resident. The time spent with residents by certified nurse practitioners (CNAs) was two hours and 53 minutes which was longer that the Illinois average and the national average of CAN time spent with resident each day.

Eighty percent of short-stay residents assessed were given the appropriate pneumonia vaccine. That again was better than the averages for both Illinois and the U.S. For long-term residents, Little Sisters of the Poor did better than the averages for Illinois and the nation when it comes to urinary tract infections (UTI). UTI is a very common affliction especially for elderly women.

On the other hand the facility was rated poorly for residents reporting pressure ulcers. Pressure sores or ulcers occur frequently when a nursing home resident is unable to walk or even stand without assistance. That results in long periods of time either sitting or laying which many times breaks down the skin usually where the body has a bone near the skin’s surface. Pressure ulcers oftentimes occur at the tail bone, the heels and on the buttocks. The opening of the skin is how the infectious process begins with cellulitis that can balloon into a much more serious infection or sepsis that is life-threatening. Little Sisters of the Poor has not been fined in the last three years. In determining which nursing home would best suit my loved one consider whether the nursing home has a physician on staff or one that regularly does rounds at the facility. Naturally the trained medical staff the better it is.

---