Previous management of Lincolnshire nursing care center also part of neglect investigation
Officials said the former management company of a Lincolnshire nursing care facility, so understaffed Monday that three residents had to receive care at a nearby hospital, also is part of the multijurisdictional neglect investigation.
Skokie-based Legacy Healthcare, which was in charge of the 104-resident facility named The Wellshire Lincolnshire at 150 Jamestown Lane through April 30, has cooperated with investigators so far, Lincolnshire Deputy Chief Kimberly Covelli said Friday.
Legacy Healthcare did not return a request for comment Friday.
The Wealshire LLC, the company police said took over managing the facility on Monday, also did not return multiple requests for comment.
Covelli said detectives are following up on leads and contacting people whose relatives live at the facility.
Mike Claffey, a public information officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said the state is continuing to monitor the situation to ensure the health and safety of the residents.
Both agencies are investigating how so few employees were on duty Monday.
A letter forwarded to the Daily Herald by a family member of a resident at the Wellshire Lincolnshire on Friday offers a glimpse into the transition process from one company to the other. The letter, postmarked April 27, seemingly was sent by Michael Florczak of Legacy Healthcare to people whose loved ones are residents at the nursing facility.
In the letter, Florczak wrote that the operations would revert to the current landlord at the end of April.
"We are honored to have served our residents, their families, our staff and the community as a whole," Florczak wrote. "We thank you all for being part of our family."
The letter concluded by directing questions about the new operations to Mike Filippo, chief financial officer of Transitional Care Management, a Lisle-based consultancy.
Filippo told the Daily Herald Friday he has no role in the current management of the facility.
"How my name got on that letter I have no idea," Filippo said. "My phone has been blowing up."
Filippo said he was approached to be contracted to do accounting services for the new management but hasn't yet decided whether to accept the offer. He said his attorney contacted Legacy officials who in turn said they would send out another letter to families containing the proper contact information.
"Obviously, I'm not happy," Filippo said of the inclusion of his contact information on the letter from Legacy.
Issues at the facility first were made public Tuesday by police and state officials.
On Monday morning, a contract employee at the facility had called 911 for help after zero medical staff and only around one-third of the facility's total employees showed up for duty, officials said Tuesday.
At least two of the three residents taken by paramedics from the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for medical treatment received the type of care they usually get at the facility when there are enough employees, police said.
State officials said Illinois Department of Public Health nursing home surveyors responded immediately to the facility Monday morning after being alerted to the lack of clinical care staff.
Employees who had worked under the previous owners were called in to help. State officials worked with staff to make a plan to provide care for the residents.