New Bedford, Fall River Nursing Homes Reach Settlement With AG’s Office

Nursing homes in New Bedford and Fall River were among five in Massachusetts that reached a settlement with Attorney General Maura Healey’s office over claims of patient neglect and inadequate care.

Healey announced Tuesday that her office “secured settlements with five Massachusetts nursing homes to resolve allegations of patient neglect, insufficient staff training, and inadequate care for vulnerable nursing home residents,” according to a release.

“These cases involved preventable harm and, in some situations, the deaths of nursing home residents,” Healey’s release stated.

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As part of the settlement, the nursing homes will return more than $250,000 to the state and will be required to implement training and compliance requirements going forward.

Both the New Bedford and Fall River instances resulted in the death of a patient.

Brandon Woods in New Bedford will pay $52,000 after allegations in 2018 that “facility staff failed to appropriately turn and reposition a resident at high risk for pressure wounds for over five weeks,” according to Healey’s release. The patient was admitted to the hospital and later died there.

Fall River’s Sarah Brayton Nursing Center will pay $81,500 after a female patient was hospitalized and died due to severe fecal impaction. The Attorney General’s Office alleged that Brayton “failed to properly implement its continence care protocol for more than 10 residents or ensure staff competencies in bowel management protocols.”