SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Maple Lawn Health Center $5,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to prevent a resident from leaving the facility unsupervised. The 118-bed skilled and sheltered care facility is located at 700 N. Main St. in Eureka.

A Department investigation learned a resident, who had a history of wandering and was fitted with an electronic monitoring device, had left the facility without staff knowledge. An Illinois State Trooper returned the resident unharmed to the center after finding him walking down a highway about two blocks from the facility.

On the evening of the incident, the resident had been observed wandering from room to room and had made two attempts to leave a secured unit. During the second attempt, an alarm sounded when the resident went through a door between the unit and the lobby, but an employee said she was too busy to check on his whereabouts. Later she asked another employee about the resident and was told he was sitting in the lobby.

The resident left through the center's front door, which is located near the lobby, but the door alarm was turned off and no one was watching the door. The resident's electronic monitoring device did not activate an alarm.

The Department-ordered plan of correction required the facility to provide residents with adequate supervision and to ensure all resident-accessible exterior doors are equipped with functional alarms or are monitored by staff.

Maple Lawn Health Center did not request a hearing on the Department's action.