ISLAND LAKE – Tenants of an Island Lake nursing home have been forced to leave their living quarters by the Illinois Department of Public Health due to a lack of air conditioning.
A total of 56 residents at Sheltering Oak were evacuated Friday because of unsafe temperatures inside the more than 35-year-old building, according to nursing home president Leonard Pesz. They were then taken to Village Hall before being transported to stay at other facilities or with family members.
The recent record-high temperatures combined with a lack of centralized air conditioning at the facility forced the evacuation.
"This was brought on by the heat wave," Pesz said. "We tried everything in our power to keep the residents comfortable until Mother Nature made that impossible."
Those efforts included relocating all programming and furniture to the dining area of the nursing home, which is air-conditioned. Twenty-four individual air-conditioning units were also purchased before state health officials made the decision to evacuate the building.
Dehumidifiers were also used.
"We usually cool off the building by opening up all the windows and try to keep our residents safe by making sure they are hydrated and comfortable," Pesz said. "The humidity continued to build inside and the temperatures got higher and higher."
Employees from the Department of Public Health evacuated the building following temperature checks Friday at area nursing homes.
"We found the temperature to be out of the acceptable range," Spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said. "Once the facility is able to maintain the required temperature, the department will reassess the facility."
That includes reviewing the situation and any possible site violations, she said.
Nursing home officials are in the process of gathering bids for the improvements, which could cost more than $50,000.
Sheltering Oak is located at 27888 N. Beech St.