BELLEVILLE - Nursing home staff did not call emergency services for nearly two hours after one of its residents, who was on a ventilator, became unresponsive, according to a lawsuit filed by a representative of the deceased woman's estate.
Jan Dennis filed suit as representative of Matilda Miller against Helia Healthcare, the company that runs the Willow Creek Rehab and Nursing in Belleville.
Dennis is claiming violations of the Nursing Home Care Act (NHCA) and wrongful death in the suit filed Dec. 9 in St. Clair County Circuit Court. Helia Healthcare's parent company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Record.
Staff at the home are accused ultimately of failing to prevent respiratory failure for not following physician orders and not calling 911 until 8.56 a.m. on the morning of Dec. 11, 2017. The suit claims the deceased was unresponsive at 7a.m.
The plaintiff is also asking a court to punish the home owners for failing to hand over medical records of the deceased, a resident at the home from 2014 until her death. Dennis claims she made repeated attempts to secure the records after delivering an authorized relative form and a death certificate.
Under the counts claiming violations of the NHCA and wrongful death, staff are accused of failing to follow physician orders, failing to notify the family of a condition change, failing to recognize the change in condition and failing to call emergency services.
The plaintiff, represented by Eve E. Golabek of Kralovec, Jambois & Schwartz in Chicago, is seeking a sum that "will fairly and adequately compensate....for the injuries, losses, and damages alleged."
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 2019-L-878.