SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Livingston Manor $5,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to take the necessary precautions to prevent a resident from leaving the facility. The 122-bed skilled and intermediate care facility is located at 14335 U.S. Highway 66 in Pontiac.

Responding to an incident report, Department surveyors learned a resident left the facility unnoticed. The facility was notified of the resident's disappearance by a delivery man who saw the resident pushing her wheelchair on the shoulder of Highway 66, about 300 feet from the facility's front door.

Three weeks prior to the incident, the resident was assessed as being a low risk for wandering even though she had tried to leave the facility three times and often talked about going home. The morning of the incident, staff observed the resident wandering the halls and acting confused.

Staff were unsure how the resident left the facility undetected, but one employee speculated she may have left through the front door with other visitors. The front door alarm is turned off between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. when the receptionist is responsible for monitoring those entering or leaving the facility. During the Department's investigation, surveyors observed the receptionist leave the front door unsupervised on several occasions.

The Department-ordered plan of correction required the home to provide residents with adequate and proper supervised nursing care, to provide constant visual supervision of any exit when the alarm system is deactivated, and to accurately assess residents for their risk of leaving the facility unsupervised.

Livingston Manor has requested a hearing on the Department's action. No hearing date has been set.