A suburban nursing home is facing litigation, as the facility’s operators are accused of negligence amid a coronavirus outbreak.
The City View Multi Care Center in suburban Cicero is at the center of the controversy, with more than 200 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Officials say that nine people have died, and now the facility is facing a lawsuit that accuses them of not taking proper precautions and not instituting protocols that could have saved lives.
The family of a resident who lost their life, 68-year-old Barbara Tuman, is among the group of people demanding answers about what happened, and why more wasn’t done to help protect the vulnerable residents of the facility.
“She had been sick for about a week,” Bobbi Drews, Tuman’s niece, said. “My cousin kept asking if it was COVID-19, and they (officials at the home) kept saying it was the flu.”
Tuman later died due to complications from the virus.
Now, the town of Cicero has filed a lawsuit against the facility, accusing City View officials of failing to prevent the outbreak. The suit alleges that staff at the home are not wearing proper personal protective equipment, and aren’t properly social distancing.
Local
“The numbers of individuals diagnosed with coronavirus skyrocketed,” Cicero spokesperson Ray Hanania said. “This is almost a quarter of all of our infections at one location, at one property. That’s huge.”
Cicero officials have issued multiple citations against the facility, but have not received a response.
“We felt we had to go to court to force this issue and get the attention of City View, and of the Illinois Department of Public Health,” Hanania said.
Drews has also filed a complaint with the state, and says the entire process has been difficult on our family.
“She still hasn’t been cremated after four weeks. That’s obviously a problem,” she said.
Drews hopes that by sharing her family’s painful story, she can prevent another family from going through similar pain.
“I think they dropped the ball and they should own that. And they’re not,” she said. “Taking responsibility goes a long way.”
City View officials did not respond to requests for comment. Hanania says that a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
