MOUNT VERNON FACILITY FINED FOR INADEQUATE SUPERVISION

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Jeffersonian Care Center $5,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to prevent a resident from leaving the facility unsupervised. The 65-bed skilled care facility is located at 1700 White St. in Mount Vernon.

During an incident report investigation, the Department learned a resident, who had a history of wandering, sustained a cut forearm after leaving the facility unnoticed. The resident was found sitting underneath a tree on facility grounds.

Staff was unsure where the resident exited the building. The resident’s electronic monitoring device, which sounds only at the front door, appeared to be functioning properly, but the other doors were not checked.

According to the nurse’s notes, the resident was agitated prior to the leaving the facility and was pacing the halls. However, no periodic checks of the resident’s whereabouts were made before or after the incident.

The resident had left the facility two months prior to this incident and was found in the facility’s parking lot.