Charges upheld against Nursing Home supervisor

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And the story continues: Charges upheld against supervisor in nursing home deaths | Northwest Herald

WOODSTOCK - A judge upheld charges Monday against a former nursing home supervisor alleging she endangered two residents in 2006 by not reporting suspicions that a nurse had improperly given drugs to two other residents.

Judge Joseph Condon ruled that those allegations properly fit the law after former Woodstock Residence nursing supervisor Penny Whitlock’s attorney asked him to dismiss them.

Defense attorney Nils von Keudell argued that the law did not allow prosecutors to connect allegations about one patient to another.

“The state seeks to expand the liability,” von Keudell said.

But Condon agreed with prosecutor Nichole Owens that the connection was legal.

“It’s her failure to report the suspicious death that led to the danger of the others,” Owens said.

Whitlock, 59, of Woodstock, also faces charges for allegedly giving nurse Marty Himebaugh permission to play “angel of death.” Whitlock also allegedly instructed another nurse to destroy prescription drugs associated with the case.

Both Whitlock and Himebaugh, 57, of Lake in the Hills, both have pleaded not guilty to a handful of felony charges.

Since the allegations surfaced, the nursing home at 309 McHenry Ave. in Woodstock has been transferred to new management. It also has been renamed Crossroads Care Center of Woodstock.