BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — Massachusetts has reached settlements totaling nearly $500,000 with seven different nursing homes over allegations of substandard care and violations that resulted in the injury and death of some residents.
According to a Massachusetts Attorney General's Office March 13 news release, an investigation by the state's Department of Health (DPH) found that Oxford Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center of Haverhill, Jewish Nursing Home of Longmeadow, Woodbriar Health Center of Wilmington and Braemoor Health Center of Brockton, Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center of Westborough, The Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at Everett and Wakefield Center had "systemic issues."
“Every nursing home resident deserves to live in a safe environment, with dignity and access to high-quality care,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement. “These settlements hold facilities accountable and will help restore the trust families need when making critical decisions about the care of their loved ones."
The alleged failures by the nursing facilities including untrained staff, out-of-date equipment and safety features, not resuscitating a patient and failure to take interventions to prevent falls including at one facility where a patient fell nearly 20 times, according to Healey's office.