Resident Who Wandered Away From Illinois Nursing Home is Found Living in Grain Bin
Canton police say that a 44-year-old woman who has been missing from an Illinois nursing home has been found. Jamie Howard was discovered on Monday after she left the grain bin she was living in and went to a nearby home for shelter from the cold weather.
Fulton County Emergency Medical Association paramedics took her to Graham hospital where she received treatment for dehydration. Howard's toes were also reportedly a little frostbitten. Howard has been missing from the Sunset Rehabilitation and Health Care Center since September. She was released from the hospital yesterday and is now staying with her sister.
During her disappearance, Howard lost a significant amount of weight and was off her medication. She has cancer, schizophrenia, and is bipolar. Police had been looking everywhere for her but suspended their search when the weather became too cold.
This is not the first time Jamie Howard has gone missing. She disappeared for three weeks last year and was found in a wooded area.
It is the responsibility of Illinois nursing homes to prevent residents from wandering off the premise and/or disappearing. They must also be kept from areas of the residence that they shouldn’t enter, such as a maintenance room or the rooms of other residents.
A nursing home resident may not be able to properly take care of him or herself without help—especially if the resident wanders off the nursing home premise. The resident may suffer from dehydration, starvation, or frostbite, get struck by a car, or become the victim of a violent crime.
Extra steps must be taken to prevent a nursing home resident with a history of “wandering” from leaving the premise. Failure to monitor such a resident so that he or she does not get lost or disappear may be grounds for an Illinois nursing home neglect lawsuit.
Missing central woman found living in grain bin, Chicago Tribune, December 2, 2008
Missing Canton women is found alive; survives in silo, Canton Daily Ledger, December 2, 2008
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