INVESTIGATION: Nursing Home Selected by RI Health as “Central Facility” - 45 Violations in 4 Years
GoLocalProv News Team
INVESTIGATION: Nursing Home Selected by RI Health as “Central Facility” - 45 Violations in 4 Years
Oak Hill has been cited 45 times for violations in recent years, according to federal reports compiled by ProPublica. Those 45 violations are the largest number of violations of any nursing home in the state during the time period.
The corporation that owns the facility says most of the violations took place under the previous owners, but a GoLocal review finds that the current corporate ownership has been cited for issues across the country at their facilities.
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At Thursday’s presentation by Governor Gina Raimondo, Alexander-Scott said, “I want to highlight one of those approaches today [to serve nursing home patients] - we have designated Oak Hill Center in Pawtucket as a COVID-19 specialty nursing home [as] a central facility to accept patients who are being discharged from the hospital.”
The selection of Oak Hill Center raises questions as the facility has been unable to control coronavirus at its facility. It has recorded 70 positive cases - with18 coronavirus related deaths.
Alexander-Scott said, “Our designation of Oak Hill Center as a COVID-19 specialty nursing home is for patients who are leaving the hospital's going forward and being able to have a space, a specialized location for them to continue to receive the care they need."
Moreover, Medicare.Gov, the federal agency tracking America's nursing homes, gives the facility poor rankings.
A GoLocal review founds that the 45 deficiencies at Oak Hill range from minimal level violations to the federal designation of “immediate jeopardy to health or safety of residents.”
Department of Health spokesman Joseph Wendelken refused to respond to questions about the violations, but defended the Department’s selection of Oak Hill.
“We have been coordinating closely with the facility as they developed their plans to operate as a COVID-19 Specialty Nursing Home. We are very confident in the abilities of administrators and staff to get the necessary care to residents with and without COVID-19,” wrote Wendelken in an email to GoLocal on Thursday night.
According to Medicare.gov’s most recent ranking, the Oak Hill Center receives the following ratings:
“Much Below Average” for Health Inspection Rating
“Average" for Staffing Rating
“Much Below Average” for Quality Measures Rating
A spokesperson for the company which purchased the facility tells GoLocal, “By being designated as a state-centralized unit for COVID-19 patients, Rhode Island recognizes the expertise of the Oak Hill Center clinical staff about their understanding of how this virus operates in a skilled nursing setting. First and foremost, this is all about saving Rhode Islanders from this terrible virus.“
When asked about the number of violations, the company said in a follow-up email on Thursday night to GoLocal, “Regarding the Oak Hill past, Centers Health Care have had 2 very good surveys and graduated the facility out of special survey. The main point is we bought it after they had their serious issues about three years ago. The last year, Oak Hill had very few deficiencies and a perfect survey.”
Today, the Pawtucket Nursing Home is owned by Centers Nursing Homes in Bronx, New York, according to filings with the Rhode Island Secretary of State. That company is an affiliate of Centers Health Care.
The Oak Hill facility's parent company has had a range of issues at facilities.
Centers Health Care has run into a series of high profile issues:
NY Settlement: "An affiliate of skilled nursing provider Centers Health Care paid a $1.65 million settlement to the New York State and federal governments over allegations that its managed Medicaid plan falsely billed for services. The Centers Plan for Healthy Living LLC submitted monthly state Medicaid claims of up to $4,300 per member for services that it did not provide, New York attorney general Barbara Underwood claimed in a settlement agreement announced this week," reported, Skilled Nursing News via the Buffalo Business News.
Kansas City Violations: "New York-based Centers Health Care took over a trio of Kansas City-area nursing homes in June, with company executives promising to turn around some of the lowest-rated facilities in Kansas and Missouri. After about eight months under the new management, it looks like it’s going to take more time. Early this month, a section of the ceiling collapsed at the Kansas City Center for Rehabilitation and Health Care. Then on Jan. 21 the Overland Park Center for Rehabilitation and Health Care lost hot water for more than a day. State inspections continue to turn up problems at the Overland Park Center. Both facilities were formerly known as Serenity Rehabilitation and Nursing, when they were owned by Serenity Care Group. The facilities still rank poorly in the Nursing Home Compare ratings, updated in December by the federal agency that runs Medicare.
The report bumped up the Overland Park Center, 5211 W. 103rd St., from one star to two, out of a possible five. But it left the Kansas City Center, 12942 Wornall Road, at one star. And it downgraded the third facility Centers Health Care took over from Serenity — Butler Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Bates County — from three stars to two," reported the Kansas City Star.
"Buffalo Nursing Home's Medical Errors Cost Woman an Eye" The Buffalo News reported: Nursing home resident Sally Keller looked forward to cataract surgery on her left eye. Days earlier, the cataract in her right eye had been removed and her vision dramatically improved. "I went down the hallway saying, 'I can see, I can see,' " the 70-year-old Keller recalled. But after her second cataract surgery, Ellicott Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, a nursing home on Buffalo's West Side, repeatedly put eye drops in the wrong eye, a state Health Department investigation determined. New York City-based Centers Health Care said it is "doing everything possible to ensure that no future occurrences like this one ever happens again." The company says it has made several changes since the incident, including having registered nurses on duty 24 hours a day and closely tracking that doctors' orders are followed.
"From Unchanged Diapers to Cold Food, Families Share Concerns About Schenectady Nursing Home" - According to a report published in The Daily Gazette, "Growing concern over quality of care at one of the region’s newest and largest nursing homes has prompted dozens of residents' families to demand improvement. Scores of relatives crowded into the Schenectady Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing during a Wednesday evening meeting, sharing complaints that ranged from unchanged diapers to food going cold before it could be served...In the observations of five residents' relatives who spoke to The Daily Gazette, the decline began in late summer, as Schenectady-based Capital Living Group prepared to sell the Altamont Avenue facility and six other nursing homes to Bronx-based Centers Health Care. The for-profit entity operates dozens of facilities in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island, and announced Sept. 6 that it had completed the acquisition of Capital Living’s nursing homes."
In Rhode Island, the company also owns Bannister Center (formally House) and Kingston Center.
Oak Hill Center Violations in RI
In the past few years (2015-2018), Oak Hill had numerous violations according to ProPublica's collection of the most recent federal data.
Dec. 20, 2017. 20 Violations
June 18, 2018, 6 Violations
Oct. 11, 2018, 5 Violations
Dec. 14, 2018, 4 Violations
June 30, 2017, 4 Violations
July 28, 2016, 3 Violations
Feb. 19, 2018, 2 Violations
Nov. 15, 2018, 1 Violation