A Nursing home sued after posting nude photos
A lawsuit in South Dakota charges a nursing home employee with posting nude photos of a resident on social media. This marks the first lawsuit against a skilled nursing facility and an employee. The photographed resident is deceased and the estate is suing for unspecified damages. The Facility is being charged with negligent hiring practices, training and supervision. Please visit:
NY CNA Arraigned For Alleged Abuse: A New York CNA has been arraigned on charges of falsifying business records, endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, and willful violation of health laws. The charges stemmed from an incident in which the CNA allegedly physically harmed a resident and then lied about it to her employer. For more information, visit
CNA Receives Prison Sentence for Resident Abuse: A CNA working at a Florida nursing home was recently sentenced to five months in jail after she was recorded physically abusing a resident on several different occasions. Family of the resident, a 76 year old with Alzheimer’s, had hidden a camera in his room after first noticing the bruising on his body. In addition to the prison sentence, the CNA will face five years of probation and lose her license. For more information, visit
http://www.mcknights.com/news/abuse-caught-on-hidden-camera-nets-nursing-assistant-5-month-sentence/article/466653/
PA SNF Worker Charged With Theft: An employee at a Pennsylvania nursing home has been charged with theft after allegedly stealing over $73,000 from residents. The employee is accused of having stolen the money from checks that were sent to residents from 2011 through late 2015.
For more information, visit http://www.mcknights.com/news/snf-employee-charged-with-stealing-73500-from-facility-residents/article/464995/ and http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/woman-charged-for-stealing-from-wayne-healthcare-facility-1.1994686
Company Agrees to Pay $600,000 in Settlement: Genesis Healthcare LLC has agreed to pay a $600,000 settlement after one of its facilities, Potomac Center in Virginia, was accused of violating the False Claims Act. Allegations included the facility’s failure to provide residents with activities in accordance with physicians’ orders and as recorded in medical records.
For more information, visit http://www.mcknights.com/news/genesis-healthcare-to-pay-600000-in-false-claims-settlement/article/462520/
71 Month Prison Sentence in Fraud Case: A Texas psychiatrist was sentenced to a 71 month federal prison sentence for his involvement in a health care fraud scheme. Dr. Robert Hadley Gross took part in a scheme which involved submitting claims to Medicare and Medicaid for services that were not provided to nursing home residents, some of which were dated after the residents’ deaths or discharges. In addition to the prison sentence, Dr. Gross is to pay a $100,000 fine and over $1.8 million in restitution.
Visit http://www.mcknights.com/news/psychiatrist-gets-prison-for-nursing-home-scheme/article/460802/ and http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/san-angelo-texas-psychiatrist-sentenced-serve-71-months-federal-prison-health-care for more information.
Laboratory to Pay $8.5 Million in False Claims Settlement: Wisconsin companies Pharmasan Labs, Inc. and NeuroScience, Inc. have agreed to an $8.5 million settlement following allegations under the False Claims Act. Pharmasan allegedly submitted false claims to Medicare for laboratory services including those referred by non-physicians for almost five years. Pharmasan and NeuroScience are also to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement which will require them in part to implement a compliance program. For more information, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwi/pr/osceola-laboratory-agrees-pay-85-million-resolve-false-billing-case
Ohio Long-Term Care Facility to Pay $1 Million Following Death of Resident: Beachwood Pointe Care Center, an Ohio nursing home, is to pay a total of $1 million in punitive and compensatory damages following the death of a resident. The lawsuit filed against the facility alleged that staff was negligent and reckless in treating the resident and failed to notify her family and physician of her poor condition. For more information, visit http://www.mcknights.com/news/nursing-home-to-pay-1-million-for-residents-death/article/453359/
South Carolina Hospital To Pay $237 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Violations: Tuomey Healthcare System, a SC hospital, is to pay $237 million for violations of the False Claims Act and Stark Law. In May 2013, a jury found that Tuomey violated the Stark Law by illegally billing Medicare for services referred by physicians with whom the hospital had an improper financial relationship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice news release, “Tuomey, fearing that it could lose lucrative outpatient procedure referrals to a new freestanding surgery center, entered into contracts with 19 specialist physicians that required the physicians to refer their outpatient procedures to Tuomey and, in exchange, paid them compensation that far exceeded fair market value.” According to the news release, the government also argues that Tuomey ignored and suppressed warnings from one of its attorneys that the physician contracts were “risky” and raised “red flags.” Under the settlement, Tuomey is to enter into a five year Corporate Integrity Agreement which will require any physician arrangements to be reviewed by an independent organization. For more information, visit http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-resolves-237-million-false-claims-act-judgment-against-south-carolina-hospital
