Fines against unsafe nursing homes are considered a slap on the wrist

POSTED AUG 01, 2016 04:25 AM CDT

BY STEPHANIE FRANCIS WARD

Mary Mims. Photograph by Don Levey.

Mary Mims has 32 years of experience working as a registered nurse, including time spent managing nursing home staffs. None of that could save the life of her mentally ill daughter, Letasha, who at the age of 36 died after an almost two-year stay at the Chicago nursing home Alden Wentworth.

Mims felt she could trust Alden Wentworth. After all, she once worked for its parent company, Alden Management Services, as an administrator overseeing various facilities, including the home where she placed her daughter.

“The mistake I made was gambling on the fact that these people knew me, and I trusted them to take care of my daughter,” Mims says.

Letasha Mims had been diagnosed with schizophrenia…