Illinois nursing home fined $50K in resident's death
LINCOLN, Ill. (AP) - A central Illinois nursing home has been fined $50,000 by the state for failing to notify a resident's doctor of her asthma complications prior to her death.
The 64-year-old woman died at the Christian Village nursing home in Lincoln in February, The State Journal-Register reported. The resident's doctor told investigators that the woman's death might have been prevented had the doctor been notified of the asthma issues.
The woman complained of shortness of breath on Feb. 2 and continued to decline, according to a March 7 report from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The report doesn't name the resident or the doctor.
The woman was given her inhaler and a nebulizer treatment on Feb. 3, the report said. The woman's medical records show nurses planned to continue monitoring her condition, but it's unclear whether she received a physician-ordered nebulizer treatment the next morning or whether nurses checked on her shortness of breath.
The doctor said he would've ordered an antibiotic or sent the patient to a hospital earlier if he had known the patient continued to be short of breath, according to state documents.
"I was shocked to hear (she) passed away," the doctor said. "I had no idea what was going on."
Christian Village officials told the state that they're challenging the fine, with a hearing scheduled for Aug. 8.
Christian Village is owned by Christian Horizons, which is based in Lincoln and St. Louis.
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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com