SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Odd Fellow-Rebekah Home $5,000 (Statement of Violation), for failure to prevent a resident from leaving the facility unsupervised. The 162-bed skilled care facility is located at 201 LaFayette Ave. East in Mattoon.

As part of an incident investigation, Department surveyors learned a resident, who had a history of wandering and was outfitted with an electronic monitor, sustained bruises and cuts on his face after leaving the facility.

A neighbor found the resident about a block from the facility and notified police. Facility staff said they were already aware of the resident's elopement when police informed them that he had been found and was taken to a hospital. The facility's investigation report stated the resident was missing for less than 10 minutes. However, the times reported by two nurses as to when they last saw the resident at the facility were after the neighbor had called the police.

The resident was able to leave through an automatic door, which had no alarm except the electronic monitoring device system. The resident was not wearing his electronic monitor when he was found. Staff told surveyors that the resident routinely cut off his monitor and scissors were found in his room after the elopement. Despite this behavior, the facility failed to check his monitor more than once a day.

The facility also failed to increase supervision of the resident after his wife, who was his roommate and helped to monitor his whereabouts, was admitted to a hospital. The resident reportedly was searching for his wife when he left the facility.

The Department-ordered plan of correction required the facility to provide residents with adequate supervision, to train staff on preventing resident elopements and to ensure all resident-accessible exterior doors are equipped with functional alarms or are under constant visual supervision.

Odd Fellow-Rebekah Home has requested a hearing on the Department's action. No hearing date has been set.