The nursing home's four smoking residents were supposed to use a specific area on the left side of the building, but inspectors discovered cigarette butts scattered around benches just 10 to 15 feet from the main entrance door. The facility also lacked required metal containers with self-closing covers in any of its smoking areas.
"We are telling them, but they don't listen," Social Service Director V3 told inspectors on December 19. She explained that the front desk receptionist was supposed to redirect residents who smoked near the entrance back to the designated area.
The smoking policy violations created fire safety risks throughout the property. Inspectors observed cigarette butts on the ground in three separate locations: near the main entrance, in the official designated smoking area on the left side of the building, and on the right side where some residents had been smoking without permission.
R1, described as having intact cognition, admitted to inspectors that he moved between smoking locations. "I pretty much smoke here on the left side of the building," he said after being observed returning from the designated area. "Sometimes I go to the right side of the building to smoke."
The covering administrator, identified only as V1, acknowledged the facility had recently changed its approach to smoking residents. "I just came to cover for the administrator here," V1 said. "This facility used to be a non-smoking facility. Now they admit smokers, too."
Director of Nursing V2 confirmed the facility housed four smoking residents and that the designated smoking area was positioned 50 to 60 feet from the main entrance, equipped with benches. However, when inspectors visited this official smoking area, they found no metal containers with self-closing covers for cigarette disposal, despite facility policy requiring them.
The facility's written smoking policy, last reviewed in April 2024, explicitly states that "smoking is only permitted in designated resident smoking areas, which are located outside of the building" and that "metal containers, with self-closing cover devices, are available in smoking areas."
None of these safety measures were in place during the inspection.
Inspectors found evidence of unauthorized smoking on the right side of the building as well, where two benches had been placed approximately 50 to 60 feet from the entrance. Cigarette butts littered the ground around these benches, with no disposal containers present.
The Social Service Director acknowledged that proper safety equipment should have been installed. "There should be self-closing devices in the designated smoking premises," V3 told inspectors.
The covering administrator promised immediate cleanup and resident education. "We will clean up the cigarette butts near the entry door and educate residents not to smoke there," V1 said.
Federal regulations require nursing homes to maintain fire safety standards, including proper disposal methods for smoking materials. The self-closing metal containers are designed to prevent accidental fires from improperly discarded cigarettes.
The inspection revealed a facility struggling to manage its transition from a non-smoking environment to one accommodating smoking residents. Despite having a written policy in place for nearly eight months, staff had failed to provide basic safety equipment or enforce smoking location restrictions.
The violation affected all four smoking residents at the facility, creating potential fire hazards near the main entrance where staff, visitors, and other residents regularly passed. Cigarette butts scattered on the ground indicated the problem had persisted over time, not just during the day of inspection.
Federal inspectors classified the smoking policy violations as having minimal harm or potential for actual harm to residents. However, the failure to provide proper cigarette disposal containers and enforce designated smoking areas represented clear departures from the facility's own written policies and federal safety standards.
The Pearl of Rolling Meadows now faces federal oversight to ensure it implements proper smoking safety measures and enforces its existing policies with all four smoking residents.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Pearl of Rolling Meadows,the from 2025-12-19 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.