September 21, 1995

BREESE NURSING HOME FINED

SPRINGFIELD, IL -- The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined Breese Nursing Home, a 120-bed skilled and intermediate care facility located at 1155 N. First St. in Breese, $10,000 for inadequate nursing care and failure to notify a resident's physician of a change in condition.

Responding to several complaints, Department surveyors found nursing home staff did not immediately contact the physician of a 90-year-old resident who complained of severe hip pain after he claimed he was thrown into bed. After the physician was reached the following day, pain medication was prescribed, but the pain persisted and the resident's lower leg became discolored. A day later his physician ordered X-rays, which showed a fractured hip that required surgery.

The allegation the resident had been thrown into bed was not investigated by the nursing home and was not immediately reported to the facility administrator or to the Department, as required by state law.

In another incident, an 80-year-old resident with a urinary tract infection was prescribed an antibiotic and her physician ordered follow-up urinalysis after completion of the antibiotic therapy. The urinalysis was not done. A month later, the urinary tract infection had returned and the resident was found to have bed sores that her physician said were the result of urine contamination.

A third incident involved a 99-year-old resident who was readmitted to the facility after surgery. A week after her return, nurses noted the woman was having difficulty and faxed an update to her physician. The physician never received the fax and was not made aware of her condition by the facility, but by a family member.

Breese Nursing Home administration was ordered to review and revise, if necessary, the facility's policy for notifying physicians, procedures to follow when a physician cannot be reached, investigating and reporting allegations of abuse or neglect and assuring staff are adequately trained.

The facility has requested a hearing on the Department's action. No hearing date has been set.

Illinois Department of Public Health 535 West Jefferson Street Springfield, Illinois 62761 Phone 217-782-4977 Fax 217-782-3987 TTY 800-547-0466 Questions or Comments