SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Emerald Park Health Care Center $20,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to provide nursing services in accordance with residents' needs. The 249-bed skilled and intermediate care facility is located at 9125 S. Pulaski Road in Evergreen Park.

As part of a complaint and special licensure investigation, Department surveyors found the facility failed to properly monitor the health of a resident who passed out after becoming intoxicated, to report resident abuse, to prevent a resident from leaving the facility unnoticed and to provide special rehabilitative programs to mentally ill residents.

Incidents or violations noted by surveyors included:

• A resident with a history of alcohol use got drunk, passed out and was carried to his room by an employee. After being put to bed, the resident was not checked by staff. He was found in cardiac arrest by another resident about 11 hours later and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
• Staff did not monitor other residents who were often intoxicated and their care plans did not note alcohol was a problem.
• An employee pulled off a resident's wig and threw it on top of a fan. Nursing staff witnessed the incident, but did not intervene. The supervisor said she told the employee to never do it again, but did not report it because she did not feel it was abuse.
• On another occasion, the same resident had a swollen face and was admitted to the hospital with a brain hemorrhage. The administrator did not investigate the injuries or notify the Department as required by state law.
• A resident with a history of wandering was able to leave the facility through a basement door. Staff frequently switched off the door alarm to accept deliveries, but did not provide visual supervision of the exit as required by facility policy.
• Specialized rehabilitative services were not provided to those residents identified with mental illness or substance abuse problems.
• No plans were in place to assist residents with re-integration into the community or to prevent residents from engaging in harmful behaviors.

A Department-ordered plan of correction required the facility to provide adequate supervision, to equip all exterior doors with an audible signal to alert staff when a resident leaves the building, to take all necessary measures to ensure that its residents are protected from abusive or neglectful situations and to assess residents for the level of care needed.

Emerald Park Health Care Center has requested a hearing on the Department's action. No hearing date has been set.