Friday, February 5, 2010

Somerset Fights Weekend Shutdown

"Facing an imminent shutdown by federal health-care authorities, the troubled Somerset Place nursing home in Uptown filed a civil lawsuit Thursday to stop the government from administratively shutting it down this weekend."  Read about it in Chicago Breaking News.

Update:  "Violence and abuse at Somerset Place leading to loss of Medicaid, Medicare funding."  Read why this could mean the end of Somerset as we know it, that it took in more than $15million in 2008 and made millions in profits, and that workers there feel it will go back to "business as usual" if allowed to stay open.  Why is it only now, with closure imminent, that Somerset claims it want to work with the community surrounding the facility?

12 comments:

  1. I just saw this. What happens when the building is "Administratively shut down"? Do the gov/feds come in and take over? Are all of the residents bused out? I'm not having much luck w/ google on this.

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  2. Thank you. It's better for everyone, I believe.

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  3. Perhaps they should have paid a little bit more attention to how they were running things inside the building instead of wasting all that time, money and effort destroying their terra cotta facade. What were they thinking?? Hideous! And, they couldn't have figured out a way to improve the side area so that residents who like to "watch the world go by" don't have to sit on the sidewalk?

    Sorry for the rant but the front of the building now looks like one of those fake shopping malls:"Somerset Towne Square" or some such nonsense. Between what is going on inside and what it looks like outside, its just too ugly to bear!

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  4. Just heard federal healthcare authorities made the decision to terminate Somerset's funding. Residents will be moved to other facilities within 30 days unless someone else quickly buys the place.

    I wonder if crime will go down in that area now. Well, actually, I don't wonder at all.

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  5. We need not get our hopes up. Although I feel sorry for the patients that live there, we will continue to see the panhandling, drug use, prostitution, etc in front of Somerset. I have lived in Uptown for over 20 years and have worked in the Social Service field here almost as long. What will happen is as follows: The company that owns this building will sell to another Management company (not much different from the one now running them) or there will be an individual in the current company that will buy the building. In all my years in this field, I have only known 2 homes to close (Emerald Park and Maxwell Manor). The poor running of these types of places propelled me to get out of the field. Looking at this report and how much money they took in is disgusting to see how dirty and run down these places are. I talked with a few of the patients from time to time when they ask me for money. I can see how they have to panhandle since the company only gives them 30.00 for the month. A million dollar company and they get only 30 dollars....sad.

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  6. Renegale...You're a Social Worker. Why is is that Uptown social services seem to excel at registering voters (sometimes three, four and five times each, bus them in from other areas of the city on election day, etc.) but can't seem to register sex offenders and felons, even when the feds get involved?

    Am I missing something? Or, are Uptown institutions just taxpayer funded "vote factories?"

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  7. I understand Sen. Steans worked on this issue. Stepping up to handle this long-standing problem is to her credit.

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  8. Am I missing something? Or, are Uptown institutions just taxpayer funded "vote factories?"

    ...or maybe more appropriately, "VOTE FARMS."

    Helen can't seem to get an Uptown Farmers Market to be successful, but she wants to build a $54 Million taxpayer funded Fish Farm???! (oh, and there are supposedly hundreds of low, very low and extremely low income housing units included in her "farm" idea)

    Something smells "fishy" to me, and it ain't the Tilapia.

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  9. Zeisty Marinara

    The Social Service agencies use the voter registration card as a way to obtain one of the 3 pieces needed to obtain a State ID. The politicians take advantage of this and have one of thier employees "escort" people from programs (this happened when I worked at 4750 N Sheridan) to vote.

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  10. I like Michele Fire's description of 'arm waving New Bedlam' type scenes out front, from a prior post.
    This place is bad news......

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  11. They are voter farms. Section 8 housing are also voter farms. All of a sudden Mary Ann Smith is OUTRAGED by the problems at Sommerset.... only because it made it to the news media and the spot light was shown on her and her lack of action on trying to correct the problems.

    Sommerset has been a problem zone ever since it opened. Most of the mentally ill felons are from Elgin State Mental Hospital that are discharged due to budget cuts. YES, murderers or rapists that are mentally ill are allowed to roam freely of the streets of uptown. If the patients were "sane" when they committed the crime, they would be in state prison but since they are found guilty by a reason of insanity, they are offshored into places like Sommerset and allowed to roam on the street. Yes mentally ill murderes are free to roam.

    The place is bad news. Changes need to happen but it goes much further where the State of Illinois need to keep those mentally ill felons within the mental hospitals and not move them to places like Sommerset.

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  12. All of a sudden Mary Ann Smith is OUTRAGED by the problems at Sommerset.... only because it made it to the news media and the spot light was shown on her and her lack of action on trying to correct the problems.

    Alderman Smith has been battling with Somerset management for years to no avail. It was the additional pressure from State Senator Heather Steans and her staff that got the ball rolling. Lots of hard work went into this effort.

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