Lawmakers seek probe of South Hadley nursing home

Two western Massachusetts lawmakers are calling for an investigation into a South Hadley nursing home, where they claim workers have gone unpaid for weeks and lack the supplies to adequately care for residents.

Sen. Jake Oliveira and Rep. Dan Carey urged Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh to launch a joint investigation into Pioneer Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center, a 132-bed short-term rehab and long-term care facility.

“The allegations and evidence of misconduct at this facility over the last several months are alarming and demand immediate action to protect the well-being of both employees and residents,” the lawmakers said in a Friday letter , which was shared by Oliveira’s office Monday.

“Over the past several months, Pioneer Valley Health employees have experienced a series of disconcerting problems, including bounced checks and unpaid wages of up to four weeks,” the letter continues. “The situation has become so dire that staff members have been protesting outside the facility, highlighting their financial struggles and the inability to meet patients’ basic needs.”

The lawmakers claimed problems have been happening for five months, and tie that to Pioneer Valley Health being bought by Blupoint Healthcare, which Oliveira described as a for-profit health company that also operates facilities in Amesbury, Athol and Whitinsville. Oliveira and Carey said understaffing at the South Hadley home has led to employees logging over 60-hour work weeks.

Boston lawmakers Sen. Liz Miranda and Rep. Samantha Montaño similarly became involved this year with worker problems at a Mission Hill nursing home as they pressed the state to appoint a receiver to keep the facility open and ensure a smooth transition to a new operator. Employees at the Edgar P. Benjamin Health Care, which is now under receivership, had also alleged not being paid for weeks.

With just about two weeks of remaining of formal sessions, the Senate has yet to take up a long-term care reform bill , which the House unanimously passed in mid-November. The bill would bolster the Department of Public Health’s oversight and enforcement authority of nursing homes and other facilities.

Oliveira said a health care reform bill the Senate is tackling this week, which strengthens oversight of private equity firms, could also boost accountability among nursing and assisted living facility operators.

Campbell’s office has received complaints about the South Hadley nursing home, a spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the office cannot confirm or deny an investigation into the home. The spokesperson added that employees can file complaints with the AGO’s Fair Labor Division, while patients can submit complaints with the AGO’s Health Care Division.

The Department of Public Health is aware of complaints dealing with payments to staff and vendors at Pioneer Valley Health and Blackstone Valley Health and Rehabilitation, another Blupoint-owned facility, according to a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

The spokesperson said DPH cannot comment on open investigations, but said DPH carefully reviews complaints and will seek more information to gauge whether a facility should be investigated. If an investigation is needed, DPH will survey the facility unannounced, the spokesperson said.

Blupoint and Pioneer Valley Health administrators did not respond to News Service requests for comment about lawmakers’ allegations.

“This is a terrible situation for the residents, their family members, and the entire staff,” Carey said in a statement. “Everyone deserves better. I will continue to work to hold those at fault accountable and to bring dignity and respect back to those who so deserve it.”

Citing concerns from South Hadley town officials, Oliveira and Carey wrote that the nursing home lacks necessities like cleaning products.

“Disturbingly, there have been reports of residents sitting in excrement and staff using pillowcases to clean patients and residents due to the absence of proper cleaning supplies,” the letter states. “These unacceptable conditions violate the basic standards of care and dignity that residents deserve.”

With a formal state investigation, Oliveira and Carey said they want to ensure all wages are paid on time, look into the reportedly “unsafe and unsanitary conditions” at the nursing home, assess staffing levels and their impact on patient safety, assess Blupoint’s financial practices and compliance with contractual obligations, and offer “transparent updates” to the town and stakeholders.

“I’m confident the Department of Public Health will take a look,” Oliveira told the News Service. “It’s incumbent upon the Department of Public Health to regulate these facilities.”

Pioneer Valley Health owes South Hadley just over $200,000 in taxes, and sewer and trash fees, Town Administrator Lisa Wong said.

“We are working with the state delegation to ensure that this serious issue has the attention it needs to be resolved,” Wong said.

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