Parc Joliet: Broken Lift Fractures Resident's Arm - IL
The resident, identified in inspection records only as R4, was sent to the hospital. Inspectors noted she had no fragile bones or other medical condition that would explain the fracture. The lift is what broke her arm.
On August 25, inspectors walked outside with the facility's maintenance director and found the lift still sitting there, next to the trash. The maintenance director, identified as V13, pointed out what was wrong with it. The shifter lever, which controls the legs of the lift's base and locks them in place before a resident is moved, was broken. It came off in his hand when he demonstrated it. Without the lever working, staff had no way to lock the base legs into position, leaving the lift unstable the moment it began to move with someone suspended in it.
"The shifter lever is broken," V13 told inspectors. "The shifter lever comes right off in your hand, which it is not supposed to do. Also, the shifter lever does not stay in the locked position because it is broken, so facility staff are unable to lock the legs of the base in place before moving the resident. The lift is so old, we just decided to throw it away after the incident."
He demonstrated on the spot how the legs would not hold, and how the lift shifted and became unstable when moved with the base unlocked.
V13 had started at the facility on July 1, 2025, less than a month before R4 was injured. He told inspectors he had not inspected any of the mechanical lifts until July 30, two days after the incident. The documentation he provided showed that lift number 107, the one that tipped over, had last been inspected on March 5, 2025. The lifts are supposed to be checked monthly.
The administrator, identified as V1, told inspectors the following day that staff were expected to inspect a mechanical lift before using it and pull it from service if it needed repairs. The facility's own competency training documents spell out exactly what a pre-use check involves: confirm the battery is charged, inspect the lift's condition, check its operation, look for fraying or tears on the sling, verify the weight limit and sling size are right for the resident, and know how to remove equipment from service when it's unsafe.
Someone used lift number 107 on July 28 without doing any of that.
The lift's user manual, which the administrator provided to inspectors without a date on it, states the shifter handle must be locked before a resident is transferred. Monthly inspections are required for institutional use.
The facility's own written policy says mechanical lift equipment must undergo routine maintenance checks and be accessible to staff around the clock. It says the policy will be followed at all times and that failure to comply will result in disciplinary action.
Nobody had inspected lift number 107 in nearly five months before a staff member used it to move a resident, the legs gave way, and the whole thing tipped over.
R4 went to the hospital with a broken arm. The lift went to the curb.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Parc Joliet from 2025-08-28 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: September 29, 2026 · Our methodology
PARC JOLIET in JOLIET, IL was cited for violations during a health inspection on August 28, 2025.
The resident, identified in inspection records only as R4, was sent to the hospital.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.