SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined two St. Clair County nursing homes for violating the state Nursing Home Care Act:

• Cahokia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a 150-bed skilled care facility located at 2 Annable Court in Cahokia, and
• Park Haven Care Center, a 101-bed intermediate care facility located at 107 S. Lincoln in Smithton.

Cahokia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was fined $5,000 (Statement of Violation), for failing to adequately supervise a resident who wandered unnoticed from the facility. The woman was discovered by a community member, who returned the uninjured resident to the facility. The man told staff that, when he found the resident, she was on one side of the street and her wheelchair was on the other side.

A Department investigation found the front door is visually monitored by staff during the day and that the alarm is not turned on until 8 p.m. There are three hours when the front door is not monitored and the main door alarm is not on. Instead, a chime, which can only be heard if a person is near the door, is the only signal activated when the door is opened. It was during this period of time that the resident left the facility.

Park Haven Care Center was fined $5,000 (Statement of Violation), for an incident in which a resident, who had a head injury and was unable to identify hazards, left the facility and walked across a well-traveled state highway to a gas station. An alarm sounded when the resident left the facility but one employee, who did not check, thought it was the door used by employees. However, another staff member who heard the alarm initiated a search. When the resident could not immediately be found, staff drove around looking for her. She was found uninjured at the gas station and was returned to the facility. Department investigators observed the door alarm panel, which lights up when an exterior door is opened, was not labeled to show which light corresponded with each door.

Both facilities have requested hearings on the Department's actions. Hearing dates have not been scheduled.