Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
A Northwest Side community hospital faces a possible penalty of almost $13,500 after it was cited late last year for not following federal guidelines related to respirator use for workers treating COVID-19 patients.
The action taken against Community First Medical Center in Portage Park followed an inspection that some nurses say was prompted by their complaints to federal regulators after the deaths of three of their colleagues who fell ill after being infected with the virus in 2020.
Community was cited for two “serious” violations in December, one for allegedly not testing the fit of respirator masks for employees and another for failure to provide a written “respiratory protection program” for workers, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records.