“Shared food. We can say you can bring it in, but then they [officials] say it has to be store bought. You can’t accept food from other homes. It has to be segregated from any other food. It’s difficult for residents, and it [outside food] brings them so much pleasure. Family will say to give it to their mom and her roommate, but we can’t do it.’”
— Sister Margaret Hogarty, Administrator at Little Sisters of the Poor’s St. Joseph’s Home in Palatine, IL

“Regulations surrounding taking photos, and privacy and social media. Even if someone’s taking a picture in an auditorium and others are in it. It’s very difficult to share.”
— Jennifer Holman, RN, BSN, Provincial Clinical Nurse, Little Sisters of the Poor, Palatine, IL

“Psychotropic drug use. Initially it was tough, but it’s gotten better. With medication review, if they do better, we’re able to discontinue drugs a lot of times. That’s probably the biggest hassle.”
— Tenira Craig, Restorative Nurse, Smith Senior Living, Chicago

“Diagnosis of mental illness. It’s problematic. You can’t just move someone in with a diagnosis of mental illness. We’re so dependent upon outside agencies [to evaluate], and then that slows down the admissions process.”
— Kristi Wallace, Administrator, Heritage Woods of Mt. Vernon, IL

“It used to be they’d cite you if they found a pattern [of anything wrong]. Now, if they find one thing, it’s a deficiency. That’s tough. Very often you can fix it in one day, but you still have to give a plan of correction. They’re much stricter than they used to be.”
— Sister Mildred Ryan, RN Supervisor, St. Mary’s Home, Little Sisters of the Poor, Chicago

“It would have to be about the meds not being able to be crushed and given together. That’s called a medication error if you put all the meds together. It’s all going to the same place. It impacts staff time and getting the meds out.”
— Casey Pudwill, Administrator, GreenFields of Geneva, Geneva, IL

“Psychotropic meds reduction. It’s a good thing, but not everyone is the same. This person might need a little more than another person. We have a committee that tries to reduce their usage, but [regulators] don’t want that individualized. They want everyone to have lower doses, but you just can’t do that automatically.”
— Mary Jo Bade, Director of Nursing, Norwood Crossing, Chicago