SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Bement Health Care Center $5,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to immediately report and properly investigate allegations of improper physical contact of residents by a resident. The 60-bed skilled care facility is located at 601 N. Morgan St. in Bement.

During an annual inspection, Department surveyors learned a resident, who was a registered sex offender, inappropriately touched two female residents. The facility did not report or investigate the first allegation or take steps to protect other residents from abuse.

Following a second incident, the administrator said he interviewed the alleged perpetrator, but the resident denied contact with other residents. There was no written report of the incident or investigation, the resident was not separated from other residents, and the facility did not inform the resident's family or physician of the allegations or notify the Department as required by state law.

The caseworker who approved the resident's placement in the nursing home believed it was suitable because the resident had medical needs and his past sexual offenses only involved children and not adults.

A Department-ordered plan of correction required the facility to review and revise, if necessary, its policies regarding residents who display inappropriate behaviors; to ensure staff intervention is taken to meet the residents' health and safety needs; to conduct an immediate evaluation of the alleged perpetrator; and to take steps to protect its residents from harm.

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