February 16, 1996
BEARDSTOWN NURSING HOME DISCIPLINED
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined St. Luke Health Care Center, a 129-bed skilled care facility for the developmentally disabled in Beardstown, $10,000 for failure to provide adequate resident nursing services and to properly maintain equipment.
The center's staff found a 9-year-old resident in his room, slouched down in a wheelchair without a pulse. The boy's feet had worked free of his shoes and the straps that hold the shoes, and the safety strap used to hold him in place had slipped up from his chest to his throat. The cause of death was listed as asphyxiation.
More than five months earlier, the facility had contacted a medical supplier about repairing the velcro straps on the wheelchair, but the repairs had not been made.
In addition, surveyors found that at the time of the resident's death, the boy was supposed to be taking part in an organized recreation program, which had been canceled for the evening because of a staff shortage.
The facility was ordered to ensure --
The facility has requested a hearing on the Department's action. No hearing date has been set.
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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 |