SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Cardinal Health Care $5,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to prevent a resident from leaving the facility unsupervised. The 159-bed skilled, intermediate care and intermediate care for the developmentally disabled facility is located at 210 E. College St. in Energy.

Responding to complaints, Department surveyors learned a resident left the facility without staff knowledge, stole a van from a nearby residence and drove to a rural area about 50 miles away. A farmer discovered the resident in his barn and notified the sheriff's department.

The resident was outfitted with an electronic monitoring device, but an alarm did not sound when he left the facility.

A surveyor noted the only door alarms working were those activated by the electronic monitoring devices. A nurse told the surveyor she often turns off the audible alarms because she cannot talk on the phone when they are sounding. The nurse also said the electronic monitoring system alarms are sometimes switched off.

Facility policy states all exit doors will be checked for proper functioning at the change of each shift, but there was no documentation the alarm system had been checked more than once in a couple of months.

A Department-ordered plan of correction required the facility to provide adequate supervision, to ensure all resident-accessible exterior doors are equipped with functional alarms or are monitored by constant visual supervision, and to train staff on policies regarding exterior door alarm systems and missing residents.

Cardinal Health Care did not request a hearing.