Mass Live, By Greta Jochem, July 14, 2024
‘A dog pound would be better.’ Inside one of the most-fined nursing homes in Mass. This article details the poor living conditions and care provided at Highview of Northampton, a nursing home in Massachusetts.
Here are the key takeaways:
- Deficiencies and citations:
- Highview has been cited for failing to meet federal standards in over 76 inspections over the past 3 years.
- The facility has been fined heavily by both federal and state governments for these violations.
- Issues include failing to keep residents free from abuse and neglect, inadequate staffing, medication errors, and unsanitary kitchen conditions.
- Resident experiences:
- Residents describe neglect, including long waits for help with toileting and infrequent showers.
- Some residents with substance use disorder disorders allege the facility did not provide proper care and failed to report overdoses.
- Verbal abuse from staff is documented.
- The facility has a locked unit with limited freedom of movement for residents.
- State oversight:
- The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) investigates complaints and fines facilities for violations.
- However, the maximum DPH fine is only $50, which critics argue is insufficient to address the problems.
- Lawsuit and settlement:
- The Attorney General’s Office sued Athena Health Care Systems, the company that owns Highview, for inadequate care of residents with substance use disorder.
- The company settled for $1.75 million but did not admit to any wrongdoing.
- Looking ahead:
- Residents and advocates hope for stricter regulations and improved care at Highview.
- A bill is being considered in the state legislature to raise the maximum DPH fine for violations.
Highlights from the report:
- In mid-April, residents and staff reported to the city health department that the building had no heat and hot water, health department records show.
“The kitchen staff has been using emergency procedures but have been unable to keep up with boiling water to properly clean equipment and utensils,” reads a report the city’s Department of Health and Human Services sent to the state.“Relative hasn’t had a shower in a week,” one complaint to the city reads. “We didn’t take baths for four days,” said Bynum, the Springfield woman who checked out in May. - Of more than 300 Medicare-certified nursing home and rehabilitation facilities statewide, Highview has the ninth highest total federal fines in the last three years, according to data from the U.S Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
In all, the facility has been fined $363,000 by the federal government in the last three years. The company did not respond to a question from The Republican about whether or not it disputes any of the deficiencies.It’s the most-fined nursing home in all of western Massachusetts, with Vantage at Wilbraham fined almost as much and Pioneer Valley Health and Rehabilitation in South Hadley fined $338,000. Three of the top 10 in the state are operated by Athena Health Care Systems. - Officials have cited Highview for verbal abuse. In January 2023, two staff members were seen using “punishment, bullying, and intimidation as methods to try and force Resident #1, who only wanted to go out to smoke, to go back to his/her unit,” a CMS complaint report reads. The resident had a history of post-traumatic stress disorder and became agitated. The surveyor found the facility failed to protect the resident from abuse and fined it $111,492.
In 2022, a report reviewed a Highview internal investigation that substantiated a verbal abuse report. A CNA called a resident “a fat f—ing pig,” the government report says. The CNA “was unrelenting during her verbal assault on Resident #1,” the report says.
The facility found the CNA had verbally abused the resident and fired the employee but didn’t report the allegation within two hours to the state, as required, and instead waited until the next day. It was fined $41,650.
In a survey in October 2023, an investigation of a complaint determined that multiple people heard a CNA call a resident a “f—ing fool.” Highview fired the person before the surveyor’s report. Verbal abuse was also found in an August 2023 report, when a resident asked for food and was unhappy with the offer of a sandwich. “F— you,” numerous people said that the staffer told the resident. “Resident #1 said it made him/her feel like s—,” the report says. - While the federal government sometimes levels hefty fines, the state agency that licenses and oversees nursing homes does not.
Last year, the Department of Public Health received 14,061 complaints and incident reports from nursing homes across the state.
So far this year, the department has issued four fines across the state totaling $200. Last year, it issued $200 in fines, including a singular $50 fine to Highview, according to the DPH.
DPH penalties are capped at $50 for violations of any state long-term care regulations and laws, a spokesperson said. That’s the minimum price for a speeding ticket in the state.
Additional $50 fines can be imposed if the issue isn’t addressed by a deadline.
When facilities are not in compliance with a state or federal law, DPH issues a statement of deficiency outlining the problems and the facility must submit a plan to correct the issues and the state follows up.
Highview was fined $50 by the state in 2021 for not reporting a serious incident to DPH and fined $50 in 2023 for not submitting a thorough investigation report to the state, a DPH spokesperson said.
A bill addressing nursing home care in the state proposes raising the DPH’s maximum fine to $500. The House voted to pass that legislation and now it’s with the Senate Committee on Ways and Means — which has more than 600 bills on its plate to review before formal sessions end July 31. - Ali, a transgender woman, has her pronouns — she and her — posted outside the door to her room. “They still refer to me as the opposite gender, which is really hurtful and disrespectful,” she said of some staff at Highview.
It’s one of the issues she has at Highview.
Ali leads the residents’ council, which is making efforts to help residents. But it’s not easy. After Ali spoke to a government surveyor, staff didn’t bring her two meals that week, she said. She felt this was retribution for speaking out.