Elevate Care Northbrook
ELEVATE CARE NORTHBROOK in NORTHBROOK, IL — inspection on September 8, 2025.
Found 2 citations. Severity: Standard violations.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct within required timeframes. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns and are subject to follow-up verification.
Inspection Findings
on what interventions should be done for R1 related to aspiration precautions. V7 stated, R1 is on full
R1, she needs to be sitting upright when eating; eat slowly; small sips and bite slowly; clear the
eats big chunk of food, make sure she cuts her foods in small pieces. R1's care plan documented: Compromised nutritional status (07/21/25):Interventions:Determine food preferences.Weigh the resident monthly as ordered.Allow ample time to complete the meal.Offer between meals snacks and meal substitutions as appropriate.Offer the resident a bedtime snack. R1's difficulty swallowing was not addressed in any care plan.
There were no other care plans presented by facility related to her (R1) swallowing problems. On 08/27/25 at 3:22 PM, V8 (Director of Food Services) was asked regarding R1's care plan related to swallowing difficulties. V8 replied, I initiated dietary care plan of R1, only for the menu choices.
Other than that, I did not evaluate her for any swallowing difficulties. I am not aware that she has swallowing difficulties. I did not do her full dietary care plan, only the portion about food preferences. I do revise care plan only food preferences, likes and dislikes. If there is a significant change, I don't do revisions or updates. We follow speech therapist recommendation for consistency change, other than that no. On 08/28/25 at 2:08PM, V20 (Dietitian) was also asked regarding R1's care plan for swallowing difficulties. V20 stated, I was the one who did her admission assessment and one more follow-up after I spoke with V19. I saw her (R1) and assessed her to check up on her. I don't do swallowing test. V7 put in a concern about swallowing difficulties but she (R1) refused the video test. V19 wants to put her on a general diet.
For R1, I don't believe I did a care plan.
I am not aware if she has difficulty swallowing. I was not notified of anything about her swallowing difficulties.
That is why we did was the care plan for meal preferences. On 08/27/25 at 3:35 PM, V2 (Director of Nursing) was asked regarding R1. V2 verbalized, She has a history of dysphagia which is reversible.
She is on supervision or touching assistance during eating.
Staff visually supervised her, cuing like if she needs anything.
She doesn't need to be prompted.
She can eat on her own.
For R1, she needs supervision when eating and she was supervised. R1 exhibited that she can do everything, and staff had supervised her.
When she had the choke, we were on top of that, she was alert and talking when transported to the hospital. On 08/27/25 at 4:58 PM, V21 (Medical Director) was interviewed regarding resident with swallowing difficulties. V21 stated, For residents with dysphagia or difficulty swallowing, we have to follow whatever the speech therapy recommends. Go by what speech therapy suggest or recommends.
Then talk to patient and family regarding recommendations and depending on what family wants.
Nowadays, health of the patient is managed and directed by family.
Look for specific instructions from speech therapy if resident is on aspiration precautions.
Like for example, if it says small bites, they should be getting small bites.
Follow the guidelines from ST and make sure staff follow instructions.
And it should be care planned and needs to be in the interventions.
Facility's policy titled Comprehensive Care Plan dated 11-17-17 stated in part but not limited to the following:Purpose: To develop a comprehensive care plan that directs the care team and incorporates the resident's goals, preferences, and services that are to be furnished to attain or maintain the resident's highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being.Guidelines: The facility will develop and implement a comprehensive person-centered care plan for each resident, consistent with the resident rights, that includes measurable objectives and timeframes to meet a resident's medical, nursing, and mental and psychosocial needs that are identified in the comprehensive assessment.
145171 09/08/2025
Elevate Care Northbrook 270 Skokie Highway Northbrook, IL 60062
Based on facility staffing roster as of 9/2/25, all facility nurses and nursing assistants were educated by the Director of Nursing and/or Designee on signs and symptoms of aspiration including but not limited to coughing while eating, throat clearing while eating, difficulty swallowing while eating, pocketing of food, and who to report this to.
This education will be ongoing.
This was verified with V2 on 09/04/25; review of in-services dated 09/02/25 and interviews conducted with V9, V16, V17, V25, V42 (LPN) and V43 (CNA).
Based on facility staffing roster as of 9/2/25, all facility nurses and nursing assistants were educated by the Director of Nursing and/or Designee on when to perform the Heimlich Maneuver in the event of a choking episode.
This education will be ongoing.This was verified with V2 on 09/04/25; review of in-services dated 09/02/25 and interviews conducted with V9, V16, V17, V25, V42 (LPN) and V43 (CNA).
Based on facility staffing roster as of 9/2/25, all certified nursing assistants educated by the Director of Nursing and/or Designee on identifying signs or symptoms that may indicate a resident needs assistance during meals to be reported to nursing staff for further assessment and interventions as needed.
This education will be ongoing.
This was verified with V2 on 09/04/25; review of in-services dated 09/02/25 and interviews conducted with V17, V25 and V43 (CNA).
Based on facility staffing roster as of 9/2/25, all nurses educated by the Director of Nursing and/or Designee on reporting of signs and symptoms of aspiration or difficulty swallowing to MD to obtain orders for speech therapy screening and to down grade diet in the event of risk for aspiration while pending speech therapy evaluation.
This education will be ongoing.
This was verified with V2 on 09/04/25; review of in-services dated 09/02/25 and interviews conducted with V9, V16 and V42. On 9/2/25 stated education has been added by the Human Resources Director to the facility orientation packet for new hire direct care staff effective immediately.
This education will be ongoing and verified by the Director of Nursing and/or Designee.
This was verified on 09/04/25 with V41 (Human Resources Director) and per record review that information and guidelines are attached to the orientation packets of new staff. V2 also [NAME][TRUNCATED]
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Source: This inspection report was downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases nursing home inspection reports in bulk. The findings reflect what state surveyors documented in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies on the date of the inspection.
Plan of correction not included: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to their state survey agency and those responses may not appear in CMS public data at the time of release. The absence of a plan of correction in this report does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken by the facility are encouraged to contact the facility or their state survey agency directly.
Corrections may have been made: This report reflects conditions observed on the date of the survey. The facility may have implemented staffing changes, additional training, policy revisions, or other corrective actions since this report was issued. We publish what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.