My name is Jennifer Banek.
I am the Lake County Coroner.
On January 23ª, around 11:10 PM, the Lake County Coroner’s Office was
contacted by the Emergency Department of Vista Medical Center to report the
death of Chelsea Adolphus, a 28-year-old Black female, resident of Waukegan,
IL.
First and foremost, on behalf of the Lake County Coroner’s Office, I would like to express my condolences to the Adolphus Family.
Ms. Adolphus was admitted to Vista Medical Center earlier last week on Wednesday, January 220*, around 4 AM, seeking medical treatment and help.
Around 2:00 AM on January 23′, she left her patient room and was discovered almost 7-hours later on the rooftop of Vista Medical Center at approximately 8:45 AM that same morning. She was wearing only her hospital gown. Ms. Adolphus was taken back down to the Vista Emergency Department where it was determined that her body temperature was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
The staff in the emergency department attempted to resuscitate and rewarm Ms. Adolphus for 14 hours. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead at 11:03 PM. The Lake County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene. Additionally, the Waukegan Police Department had not been notified of the incident and were notified by the Lake County Coroner’s Office. The Waukegan PD also responded to the scene. On Friday, January 24th, my office performed an autopsy on Ms. Adolphus with the preliminary findings of hypothermia. Final
determination of the cause of death is pending toxicology results. American Healthcare Systems and the Vista Medical Leadership Team has been issued a preservation letter by my office ensuring all paper, video, digital, and electronic evidence is not destroyed, overwritten, or deleted.
Since at least December of 2023, as the Coroner of Lake County and as a nurse anesthesiologist who has previously cared for patients at Vista Medical Center East, I have voiced my concerns about the lack of care and safety measures in place at this facility. The Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed those concerns by revoking Vista’s level 2 trauma designation for five weeks for not having appropriate blood supply and clinical staff available for patients. Most recently, Vista Medical Center furloughed 69 employees, including sitters who are staff members that sit and watch to monitor to ensure patients are safe when they are most vulnerable. I had warned during a February 2024 press conference that lives were at stake. In high stakes industries, like healthcare, we rely on evidence-based practices, transparency, and effective oversight as protective measures to make certain people do not die. A death is not the threshold by which we should be measuring the necessity for a call to action.
American Healthcare Systems must be held accountable to provide safe, quality healthcare to Waukegan and its surrounding communities. It has repeatedly fallen short by failing to meet its financial obligations to vendors, clinical providers, the City of Waukegan for its water bill, in addition, to $1M owed in back taxes.
Vista recently reported it has applied to the State of Illinois for Safety Net designation. Safety Net Hospitals receive additional subsidies when they meet certain thresholds of Medicaid or Charity Care. While Safety Net Hospital designation from the State of Illinois could help with healthcare costs and improve access to the community, unless there is transparency, money should NOT be given to private equity entities at the taxpayers’ expense, especially to a company with such a poor track record. Hospitals are a public trust and the public needs to trust in the hospital that serves this community.
Once again, I would like to express my condolences to the Adolphus Family. Twenty-eight-year-old Chelsea Adolphus came to Vista Medical Center for help. Accidental loss of life because of lack of appropriate basic safety measures cannot happen again. More delays and excuses puts Vista patients at risk. It is past time for all stakeholders to step up and find solutions that ensure safe, quality healthcare at Vista Medical Center.