The Chicago Sun Times reports this morning that a 63-year-old resident of a Chicago nursing home died from multiple injuries suffered during an assault. A spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed the man, identified as Thomas Donovan, died on April 1 at South Shore Hospital. The death has been ruled a homicide and Illinois State Police are conducting an investigation into the matter.
Although the name of the nursing home was not revealed, the Sun Times identifies the facility's location as 14500 S. Manistee Avenue in Burnham.
Burnham Healthcare's Troubled History
An internet search of the address reveals the facility to be Burnham Healthcare. Burnham has a history of violence amongst its residents. In 2004, the Illinois Department of Public Health fined the facility $5,000 for failing to investigate an incident of a resident who was sexually aggressive towards another resident.
The state investigation revealed the resident at issue had a history of sexually aggressive behavior, yet the facility failed to take any action to protect other residents. On the morning of the reported incident, the staff at Burnham began to take steps to transfer the resident, yet failed to monitor the man while they awaited approval for the transfer. During the unsupervised wait, the man committed a sexual assault.
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