Long-Term Care - Illinois General Assembly

elderly. It provides low-income elderly with options that allow them to live independently but
in an environment that provides support activities such as cleaning, cooking, transportation,
etc. State regulations that might prohibit or impede such conversions should be eliminated.
AARP
ADMINISTRATION
• All services, whether home-delivered meals, prescription drug coverage, housing with
services, or skilled nursing care, should be accessed through one entry-point and
coordinated by a unified case management system. This single-point-of-entry should be
consistent community-by-community. A unified case manger system that links a senior with
a case manager who remains with them regardless of the type or setting of services they
need is imperative. While the Senior Helpline in the Department on Aging does yeoman’s
work as a phone-based one stop shop, this concept must now be extended to the
community level. AARP
• Right now individuals spend considerable time just learning how to navigate the system.
Many become frustrated and finally enter the system with negative attitudes about how they
have been treated. Dealing with health issues of family members is stressful enough
without complicating it further. The unification of case management activities would benefit
customers, providers, and the state by streamlining the process. Any such process should
ensure the fair representation of all types of appropriate services available to the customer,
disclosure of the estimated costs of those services, and a clear determination of the
personal, health and medical needs of the customer. Illinois Health Care Association
• A searchable, user-friendly internet database should be developed to allow seniors and their
families to quickly identify what services are available in their area. The web-site should
provide families with quality indicators to help them evaluate the various providers. The site
should also permit users to access information regarding specific diseases and treatment
centers, care techniques, and caregiver support services available in Illinois. AARP
• The web-site should include an assessment tool to gauge the needs of the prospective
customer, an explanation of the costs of the service options, and a directory of the full range
of services available by geographic area. As the site is developed, it could be expanded to
include the results of customer satisfaction surveys, quality standards, staffing information,
and comments from residents and family members about the service delivered in each
setting so that individuals searching the site can get a balanced view. It would be necessary
to determine the most appropriate state entity to host and maintain the site, dialog with
interested parties about the content of the site and give consideration to what consumer
satisfaction information should be contained on the site and the most appropriate method for
collecting such data. Illinois Health Care Association
• While in some ways the website of the Illinois Department of Public Health regarding nursing
homes is helpful, the majority of violations are not posted, despite the legal mandate that
they be there. IDPH should either do the work itself, or contract with an entity able to do the
job. Illinois Citizens for Better Care (ICBC)
• The state could also help consumers make sound health care decisions by developing
resident and family customer satisfaction surveys, sharing these results with the public
through the internet or by publishing a consumer guide on choosing a nursing home. These
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