A Chicago nursing home inspector didn't show up to facilities for at least a year and falsified dozens of inspection reports, Block Club Chicago reported Jan. 19.
Chicago's Department of Family and Support Services hired an "elder protective investigator" to inspect nursing homes and rehab facilities, though the unidentified inspector, referred to as '"EPI I," never showed up at those facilities and instead filed fake visit reports, according to an investigation from Inspector General Joe Ferguson's office cited by Block Club.
"Multiple staffers at EPI I's assigned facilities could not recall ever having met the EPI I and, in one instance, the EPI I reported meeting with a facility staff member who no longer worked at the facility," the report said.
The employee resigned before being discharged and the inspector general's report recommended the city's Department of Family and Support Services start providing EPIs cell phones with GPS systems to ensure they're conducting facility visits.
The department is now working to implement that recommendation, according to a statement shared with Block Club.
"The Chicago Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) takes very seriously its role in protecting the health, safety and wellness of the city's most vulnerable population. The department responded swiftly to an investigation by the Office of Inspector General into falsified work records by a former DFSS elder protective investigator."