Illinois leads the nation with the most unsafe black nursing homes, according to a new analysis by The Chicago Reporter.

The Reporter analyzed data from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which listed 580 of the nation’s most unsafe facilities among roughly 16,000 nursing homes in the U.S. The office compiled the list by analyzing each homes’ three most recent inspection survey results as of December 2008.

The Reporter was able to identify the racial composition of 531 of the list’s 580 homes. Among these homes, 53 were facilities where a majority of the residents were black. Of those homes, Illinois had the most facilities with 12. Michigan came in second with seven.

The Reporter found that of Illinois’ 51 majority-black nursing homes, 24 percent appeared on the federal list for having the worst safety records for elder abuse. By contrast, just 5 percent of the state’s white nursing homes appeared on that same list, 31 of the 685 majority-white homes.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services oversees national nursing home abuse safety. Each state conducts its own inspections using the agency’s federal guidelines. However, differences in state licensing standards and in state policies can affect the outcome of these surveys, said spokesman Peter Ashkenaz.

Ranking facility scores within a state, rather than nationally, provides a more useful way of gauging the performance of nursing homes and elder abuse.

The Reporter found that the disparities also occurred at a national level. Black nursing homes represented 10 percent of homes on the government’s list of unsafe homes, but just 5 percent of all nursing homes in the nation. No other racial or ethnic group was overrepresented in that way.

These disparities were even more acute in Chicago, where nearly one in four black nursing homes–seven of 30–and none of the 45 majority-white homes were listed as being among the most unsafe in the nation.

All seven of the majority-black nursing homes are located on the city’s South Side: Alden Wentworth Rehab and Health Care Center, All Faith Pavilion, Avenue Care Center, Belhaven Nursing and Rehab Center, Rainbow Beach Care Center, Renaissance Park South, and South Shore Nursing and Rehab Center.

All of the majority-black homes in Illinois that appeared on the list are for-profit organizations. An established body of research, including the Government Accountability Office report, has found that for-profit homes tend to score lower on many indicators than nonprofit facilities.

– from Steven Peck, Senior Attorney at Peck Law Group

About the Author

Attorney Steven Peck has been practicing law since 1981. A former successful business owner, Mr. Peck initially focused his legal career on business law. Within the first three years, after some colleagues and friend’s parents endured nursing home neglect and elder abuse, he continued his education to begin practicing elder law and nursing home abuse law.