SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Alden-Poplar Creek Rehabilitation and Health Care Center $5,000 (Statement of Violation), for failure to prevent a resident from leaving the facility unsupervised. The 217-bed skilled care facility is located at 1545 Barrington Road in Hoffman Estates.

During an incident investigation, Department surveyors learned a resident, who had a history of wandering and attempting to leave the facility, sustained multiple cuts and bruises after exiting the facility unnoticed. Staff were alerted to the missing resident at 3 a.m. when another resident heard him outside in the parking lot calling for help. The resident was last seen 90 minutes earlier after he fell in his room.

Surveyors discovered that the resident exited a door that was unlocked and was not connected to an alarm system. Other facility exit doors were found to have alarms that were barely audible.

The Department-ordered plan of correction required the facility to provide adequate supervision; to review, and revise as necessary, its policies regarding elopement; and to ensure all resident-accessible exterior doors are equipped with functional alarms or are constantly monitored.

Alden-Poplar Creek Rehabilitation and Health Care Center has requested a hearing on the Department's action. No hearing date has been scheduled.