SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Graciela Guzmán’s bill to require reporting on the number of vacant nursing home surveyor positions has passed committee.

“Protecting and supporting our elderly community members in long term care facilities must be a top priority if we are going to entrust these institutions with the care of our loved ones,” said Guzmán (D-Chicago). “Making sure we have enough trained nursing home surveyors will ensure Illinois can stay on top of this issue and ensure our elderly are properly cared for.”

Nursing home surveyors are professionals who inspect nursing homes to make sure they meet regulations for care, safety and that residents rights are being respected. Oftentimes they survey through interviews, observations and record review.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois has approximately 200 surveyors, which employ teams of registered professional nurses, nutritionists and an environmental health practitioner. These surveyors will identify deficiencies and allows IDPH to push towards corrections from the deficient nursing home.

“The more surveyors we have, the better we can serve residents in these nursing homes,” said Guzmán. “By including the number of surveyors reported to the General Assembly by IDPH, we will have the tools to know if and how we need to address this issue.”

Senate Bill 3967 has passed Senate Health and Human Services Committee and heads to the full Senate for further consideration.