January 29, 1999
FOUR CENTRAL ILLINOIS NURSING HOMES DISCIPLINED
SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health has taken disciplinary action against four central Illinois nursing homes:
Convalescent Care Center was fined $10,000 for not adequately supervising two residents who wandered unnoticed from the facility. One resident, a 79-year-old man confined to a motorized wheelchair because his legs had been amputated, was missing for more than two hours before being found outside in 84 degree temperature. As a result, he was hospitalized for three days with dehydration, sunburn and possible heat stroke. Another resident, a 79-year-old female, left the facility and was seen walking on a sidewalk three blocks from the care center by a staff person going home from work. She was returned unharmed. (Statement of Violation)
Meadow Manor was fined $10,000 for failure to properly monitor a 78-year-old resident with Alzheimer's disease who, although she threatened numerous times to wander from the facility, was not consistently observed. The resident did leave the building undetected and was found at a nearby YMCA. A staff member, who heard the door alarm when the resident left, checked the door, but figured it had been triggered by an employee or visitor. The staff member then reset the alarm without looking to see if a resident was missing.
The facility also was cited for not maintaining areas in a safe manner, including unsupervised sink and tub hot water fixtures with water temperatures of 175 degrees, 65 degrees over allowable levels, and blocking access to handrails in hallways. (Statement of Violation)
Patterson House was fined $20,000 for failure to implement a policy regarding abuse and neglect and for not meeting the nursing care needs of residents.
During an eight-month period, the facility recorded 25 instances of physical abuse of staff and residents by a resident, but steps were not taken to protect the residents from harm. The resident hit, shoved, grabbed, kicked, threw objects and knocked individuals out of their chairs. The facility had not updated the resident's behavior management program in the past year and no behavior programming recommendations had been made.
In regards to nursing care, nurses did not follow a doctor's orders or provide consistent assessment for treatment of a woman's open hand sore and they did not instruct staff on wound care and bandage application. The facility also failed to administer medication or complete tests ordered by residents' physicians and did not update a resident's medical record to reflect an allergic reaction to a medication. (Statement of Violation)
Swann Special Care Center was fined $10,000 for failure to provide the necessary nursing care to meet the needs of its residents. As the result of a complaint investigation, Department surveyors found that a 21-month-old child with breathing difficulties died of respiratory arrest after being left alone with her breathing monitor switched off. Staff said the apnea monitor, which had been ordered by the child's physician to be in use at all times, was turned off for a short period of time because the girl was restless.
At the time of the survey, Department surveyors also observed three other residents with their apnea monitors not on. One was off, staff said, because it was making too much noise, another because they were not sure the resident was asleep and the third had not been switched on. (Statement of Violation)
 
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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 |