- Published: Monday, August 04, 2014 01:00 AM
Group to study racial disparities, language barriers, urban/rural divide and more
SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago 16th) is optimistic that a new task force convened to consider racial and cultural disparities in care for older adults will improve options for an aging population that is increasingly diverse. She also anticipates that the group will keep the spotlight on long-term care after well-publicized cases of abuse and neglect inspired a major overhaul of state nursing home regulations in 2010.
“One of the primary motivations for the nursing home reforms I helped pass was a study showing a wide gap in quality of care between nursing homes whose residents were mostly white and those whose population was disproportionately made up of racial and ethnic minorities,” said Collins, who sponsored legislation creating the new working group. “We need to investigate whether the situation has improved, whether there are similar disparities in other kinds of support services for seniors and what we can do now to safeguard the dignity of all older Illinoisans, regardless of race, language, neighborhood or income.”
The Long-Term Services and Supports Disparities Task Force, whose authorizing legislation was signed into law last Friday, will bring together consumers, advocates and representatives of nursing homes and service providers to compile findings and recommended state actions to reduce unequal care. The task force has been directed to look at residential nursing homes but also assisted living facilities, adult day cares, home health services and other kinds of supports for seniors. The group’s first annual report is due July 1, 2015.
“We owe our elders the respect that comes with skilled nursing care, culturally competent assistance and the assurance that whether they are black, white or brown, living in the urban core or a rural area, they will receive high-quality, compassionate care,” Collins said. “This task force is not designed to be a temporary bandage, issuing one report and then dissolving; it will continue to meet and to exert pressure on behalf of individuals whose voices are too rarely heard.”
