Hundreds of Chicago Workers to Join In Nursing Home Safety March

Elected officials to participate in march/candlelight vigil for safe staffing, wages and resident safety

CHICAGO, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --State Sen. Heather Steans (7^th) and State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (14^th) will join hundreds of workers and community activists in a Nursing Home Safety March and Candlelight Vigil to raise awareness around the need for nursing home owners to invest resources in resident care.

Though the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities (IAHCF) pocketed more than $50 million in profits last year and despite landmark nursing home staffing legislation passed in 2010, concerns about inadequate staffing levels, supply shortages and worker turnover due to poverty wages continue to plague many of these homes.

Marchers will pause at each of four nursing homes and workers will tell personal stories of how these deficiencies are affecting their work. They will also demand that owners devote some of their considerable wealth to providing adequate pay for workers, staffing levels and supplies.

WHO: Hundreds of workers at Lakeshore, Chalet, Alden Village North and Lakefront nursing homes, State Sen. Heather Steans (7^th), State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (14^th) and healthcare advocates

WHEN: 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Thursday, November 15, 2012

WHERE: The march will begin at 7200 N Sheridan Rd. heading north and end at 7618 N. Sheridan Rd. Marchers will then proceed back south and conduct a brief candlelight prayer vigil in front of each nursing home.

Visuals: Hundreds of nursing home workers in work uniforms, large banners and small signs with healthcare messaging, candles.

SOURCE SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana