Shutdown Impacts Some Illinois Hospital Inspections

Illinois officials are scaling back on certain hospital and nursing home inspections because of the partial federal government shutdown.

The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers reports a state agency gets about $1.3 million a month to pay for inspections of medical facilities.

But the shutdown means the money isn't heading to Illinois. So the Illinois Department of Public Health has put certain inspections on hiatus.

Department spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said the agency is still inspecting facilities if the department receives credible complaints about a location. She said the lack of money isn't creating an immediate problem.

But she added a prolonged shutdown could create "a more critical issue in the weeks ahead."