November 12, 1999
THREE ROCKFORD NURSING HOMES FINED
SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined three Rockford nursing homes for violations of the state Nursing Home Care Act:
P.A. Peterson Home for the Aged was fined $10,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to notify a resident’s orthopedic surgeon in a timely manner after the resident was injured the day he was admitted to the facility. According to a complaint investigation, Department surveyors learned that, on the day he was admitted to the facility, the resident, who had had reconstructive hip joint surgery, was being moved to a bed by two aides when the hip was dislocated. Facility staff were unaware of the dislocation but, when the resident complained of pain, they did not call his doctor and told him the pain could be expected after surgery. It was not until the next day that staff called his doctor, who had to surgically put the hip back in place because it had been almost 12 hours had passed since the dislocation.
Park Strathmoor was fined $5,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to provide adequate supervision to prevent a resident elopement. A resident with a history of wandering was discovered missing and found by police nearly two hours later sitting on the deck of a home about a half mile from the facility. He was returned to the facility unharmed. Staff told Department surveyors, “We were watching him the best we could.”
The facility was ordered to implement a plan of correction that included a review and revision of resident care plans to reflect resident needs, educating all staff about their roles in providing care and monitoring residents, and implementing a system in which all doors accessible to residents are equipped with an audible signal that sounds when opened or the exit is visually supervised by staff at all times.
River Bluff Nursing Home was fined $10,000 (Statement of Violation) for failure to properly care for a diabetic resident. A complaint investigation by Department surveyors concluded that staff did not assess an 86-year-old resident’s condition accurately after he was found to have low blood sugar. Facility protocol called for the injection of a hormone to increase the sugar content in the blood, but staff incorrectly thought the shot required a doctor’s order. When the hormone was administered it was given orally, even though the resident was unresponsive and had a hard time swallowing. Because of his difficulty in swallowing, the resident aspirated the hormone into his lungs.
Despite consistent readings for low blood sugar for 3 ½ hours, staff did not contact the resident’s physician. When finally called, the doctor ordered the resident transferred to the hospital emergency department where he was treated for inflammation of the lungs due to aspiration.
P.A. Peterson Home for the Aged, Park Strathmoor and River Bluff Nursing Home have requested hearings on the Department’s actions. No hearing dates have 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 |
Copyright © 1999 State of Illinois