SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Rosewood Care Center Rockford $5,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to prevent a resident from leaving the facility unsupervised. The 120-bed skilled care facility is located at 1660 S. Mulford Road in Rockford.

Responding to a complaint, Department investigators learned a resident left unnoticed from the facility and was driven 15 miles to her home by a stranger.

The resident was admitted to the facility for the weekend in order to provide respite to her caregivers, but staff failed to identify the resident as a potential wanderer.

An employee said as she arrived for work a woman was leaving the facility and the alarm was sounding. The employee inquired about the woman at the nurse's desk and was told she was a visitor. The employee at the nurse's desk had assumed the woman was a visitor because he had not been told there was a new guest.

A Department-ordered plan of correction required the facility to review its policies on assessment, care planning and elopement, specifically addressing the needs of temporary care admissions; and to train staff on appropriate actions and interventions to prevent a resident from leaving the facility unsupervised.

Rosewood Care Center Rockford has requested a hearing on the Department's action. No hearing date has been scheduled.