Nursing home responds after being issued termination notice by MassHealth

A Massachusetts nursing home has responded after receiving a termination notice.

Yesterday, MassHealth issued initial termination notices to three private nursing facilities that have reportedly failed to meet the standards and requirements of the MassHealth program during the COVID-19 crisis and have a historic record of poor performance.

One of those nursing homes was Wareham Healthcare.

The nursing home issued the following statement through a spokesperson for Next Step Healthcare.

“For more than five months, Wareham HealthCare has been working tirelessly to create a safe, effective care environment for our residents amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. During this entire time, there have only been four confirmed COVID-19 cases amongst Wareham staff and residents and each of these has fully recovered resulting in no COVID-19 related deaths at Wareham HealthCare.”

“The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) conducted four infection control surveys at the Wareham facility and it was found to be “in adherence” with infection control standards except on the date of one of these surveys. The facility’s average score for the four surveys was 25.5 out of a possible 28 (91%). While we strive for perfection, we believe Wareham’s survey performance compares favorably with other Massachusetts skilled nursing facilities. We were therefore extremely surprised and disappointed to learn from DPH that they had begun the process to revoke our participation in the MassHealth program. We plan to appeal this decision.”

“Wareham HealthCare has been taking a number of steps to assure full compliance with all infection control protocols mandated by the state. We are confident that we have adequate staff, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), signage, training, and other resources necessary to assure a safe environment for our residents.”

“Wareham HealthCare will work closely with the Department of Public Health to better understand and address their concerns and fully explain the successful results achieved by the facility.”