Sunny Hill Nursing Home: Medication Given Without Consent - IL
That is the sequence of events inspectors documented at Sunny Hill Nursing Home of Will County following a complaint inspection completed January 2, 2026.
The resident, identified in inspection records only as R3, was admitted to the facility with a list of diagnoses that included congestive heart failure, cognitive communication deficit, major depressive disorder, and osteoarthritis. On December 3, 2025, a nurse practitioner ordered Zoloft 25 mg to be taken nightly, a standard starting dose for depression.
The same day, a registered nurse spoke with R3's nephew, who held power of attorney for his uncle. The nephew said no. He told the nurse his uncle had been expressing negative and depressive thoughts for years, and that he did not want additional medications at this time. The refusal was documented in a progress note the following morning.
The nurse forgot to remove the order from the electronic medical record.
She acknowledged this herself when inspectors interviewed her on December 31. She said she had received the order, delegated it to the next shift, and then spoke with the POA, who declined. She said she forgot to discontinue the medication. The order stayed active. Licensed practical nurses, working from the medication administration record, had no reason to know the family had refused. They gave R3 Zoloft every night from December 5 through December 17.
Thirteen doses. Thirteen nights.
The Director of Nursing confirmed the account. She told inspectors the registered nurse had simply forgotten, that the medication remained on the MAR, and that the LPNs administered it without consent as a result.
The nephew found out at a care plan meeting on December 18. Staff went through R3's current medications. When they reached Zoloft, he stopped them.
His response is recorded in a progress note from that afternoon. He became upset. He said he had already declined this medication and it should not have been given. Then he said something that went beyond this single incident: "I do not want to attend these meetings any longer. These meetings are not effective, your staff just does the opposite of what I request."
He did not say it was the first time he felt unheard. The progress note does not say whether anyone at the meeting responded to that.
Zoloft was discontinued that same day, December 18, per the POA's request. The order audit report confirms it. The medication administration record confirms the thirteen days it was given before that.
Inspectors cited the facility for failing to honor the wishes of a power of attorney, a finding that applied to one resident reviewed for medications. The level of harm was assessed as minimal harm or potential for actual harm, the lower end of the federal scale. The deficiency did not rise to immediate jeopardy.
What the inspection record does not address is what the nephew meant when he said staff did the opposite of what he requested, and whether he was describing a pattern or a single failure. The progress notes do not say. Inspectors did not explore it, or if they did, those findings are not reflected in this report.
What the record does show is a man with major depressive disorder, cognitive deficits, and a family member who had legal authority to make his medical decisions. That family member said no to a medication on December 4. Nurses gave it anyway for nearly two weeks. His nephew found out in a meeting, in a room with staff, going through a list.
He said he did not want to come back to those meetings. The inspection report does not say whether he has.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Sunny Hill Nursing Home of Will County from 2026-01-02 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Download the official CMS inspection PDF from Medicare.gov
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 19, 2026 · Our methodology
SUNNY HILL NURSING HOME OF WILL COUNTY in JOLIET, IL was cited for violations during a health inspection on January 2, 2026.
That is the sequence of events inspectors documented at Sunny Hill Nursing Home of Will County following a complaint inspection completed January 2, 2026.
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.