SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Burnside Nursing Home $5,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to provide adequate nursing and personal care to meet a resident's needs. The 119-bed skilled care facility is located at 410 N. Second St. in Marshall.

Responding to a complaint, Department surveyors learned a resident received no food or fluids for eight days after being admitted to the facility following a stroke.

The resident was originally given fluids intravenously and offered sips of clear liquid for four days after admission, but the woman's family expressed their wishes to the staff that all nourishment and liquids be discontinued. The woman's physician disagreed with the family and stated he did not believe she was in a "terminal state."

Although no one in the family had been granted health care power of attorney, they were able to obtain an order from another doctor, who was a relative, to stop providing food or liquid. The facility cannot withhold nutrition unless authorized by someone who has power of attorney for health care.

During the time the woman did not receive nourishment or fluids, facility staff reported she grabbed an oral swab from an employee's hand and sucked the water from it and she made non-verbal signs she was hungry. The resident's physician and family were again consulted and feedings were resumed. The woman was observed eating pureed foods, drinking a dietary supplement without choking, and holding and drinking clear liquid from a cup without assistance.

A Department-ordered plan of correction required the facility to review its policies and procedures for ensuring a power of attorney for health care is on file and for assessing changes in a resident's condition when determining personal care requirements.

Burnside Nursing Home has requested a hearing on the Department's action. A hearing date has not been scheduled.