Family demands answers in death of Chicago woman who was on hospital roof for over 6 hours

• Twenty-eight-year-old Chelsea Adolphus was found on the roof of Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, Illinois, after being reported missing from her room nearly seven hours earlier.
• Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek expressed concerns about the hospital's safety measures and plans to notify the Illinois Department of Public Health.
• Adolphus' family is demanding answers and seeking justice, saying: 'Chelsea’s passing highlights a systemic failure, and we cannot let her story go unheard.'

A woman found on the rooftop of a suburban Chicago hospital wearing nothing but a hospital gown was later pronounced dead. Now her family wants to know why she was out in the freezing cold for nearly seven hours, and one local official is demanding accountability from the facility.

The woman, 28-year-old Chelsea Adolphus, was admitted to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, Illinois, at about 4 a.m. Jan. 22, said Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek at a news conference on Monday.

Adolphus left her hospital room at around 2 a.m. Thursday, and at some point someone made an announcement to alert staff that a patient was missing. Adolphus wasn't found until roughly 8:45 a.m. after someone reported seeing her on the rooftop, Banek said.

Hospital staff retrieved Adolphus from the roof and took her to the emergency department, where her body temperature was about 50 degrees. Staff tried to resuscitate and warm Adolphus for 14 hours, but she was pronounced dead just after 11 p.m., Banek said.

The Lake County Coroner's Office said Adolphus died of hypothermia.

Here's what we know about Adolphus' death and what to expect next.

Coroner concerned about 'lack of care' at hospital

Banek said she's concerned about the “lack of care and safety measures” at Vista Medical Center East and planned to notify to the Illinois Department of Public Health about the case. 

She said the Illinois Department of Public Health had revoked the hospital’s Level 2 trauma designation for five weeks because the facility did not have proper blood supply and clinical staff.

“Vista hospital is the only for-profit hospital in Lake County, and what that means is that they are the only hospital that does not have to have transparency in terms of their operational expenses,” she said. “I think we need to take profits over patients out of health care.”

She said her office has directed Vista Medical leadership and American Healthcare Systems, the healthcare management company that owns the hospital, to preserve "all paper, video, digital and electronic evidence" and ensure it "is not destroyed.”

Nether Vista Medical nor American Healthcare Systems responded to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Tuesday.

How did Chelsea Adolphus end up on the roof?

When Adolphus left her room early Thursday, the region was experiencing temperatures well below freezing and light snowfall, according to AccuWeather and local meteorologists.

Banek said that Adolphus most likely exited a door she couldn’t use to get back inside and that the door didn't have alarms.

“It is a very convoluted, difficult way to get to that part of the rooftop," Banek said. "It is not a regularly accessed way by patients. … I have a lot of concerns that measures weren't being put in place to keep patients safe.”

When asked, Banek declined to say why Adolphus had been admitted to the hospital.

Coroner said she warned health officials about hospital

Banek said the medical center had furloughed 69 employees, including staff who monitor patients to ensure their safety. She said she noted in a news conference last February that something needed to be done.

“We rely on evidence-based practices, transparency and effective oversight as protective measures to make certain people do not die," she said. "A death is not the threshold by which we should be measuring the necessity for a call to action.”

Banek also said American Healthcare Systems owes $1 million in back taxes and has failed to meet its financial obligations to vendors, clinical providers and the city of Waukegan, including $200,000 in unpaid water bills and an unpaid bill for police services.

She said Vista Medical Center recently applied to become a safety net hospital, which would allow the facility to receive financial assistance once it meets thresholds of Medicaid or charity care.

“While a safety net hospital designation from the state of Illinois could help with health care 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,” she said.

Loved ones mourn the loss of kind, compassionate woman

Adolphus' brother, Paul Adolphus, said Monday that his family is going through a “horrible time mentally.”

Calling what happened to his sister “most disturbing death ever in this town,” he said their family wants to know what happened.

“The Adolphus family will be seeking justice for Chelsea Adolphus because this has to be stopped,” he said. “If there's anyone, any staff that was on board that day in the Vista hospital, me and my family ask that you guys come … so we can get justice for my sister.”

He said in a Facebook post that Adolphus was his only sister and that "I will never be the same again."

Another loved one shared a GoFundMe link in honor of Adolphus. The fundraiser organizer, who identified herself only as a family representative named Victoria, said the money would be used to cover memorial expenses, legal costs and support for her family.

"Chelsea’s passing highlights a systemic failure, and we cannot let her story go unheard," she wrote. "Chelsea was loved deeply by her family and community. She was kind, compassionate, and full of life. We believe she deserves justice, and her family deserves answers."

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at [email protected].