Owner Of Nursing Homes In Westborough, Worcester Fined Over Neglect Claims: AG

WESTBOROUGH, MA — Next Step Healthcare LLC will pay $4 million to settle claims that it understaffed its facilities in Massachusetts so badly that residents suffered neglect, according to Attorney General Andrea Campbell.

Next Step operates 16 facilities in the state, including The Hermitage Healthcare in Worcester and Westborough Healthcare. According to the AG, the company began slashing staffing levels in 2019, and continued with low staffing levels after new state minimums went into effect in 2021.

"The AG’s Office contends that Next Step’s submission of claims to MassHealth for these substandard services were false claims, in violation of the Massachusetts False
Claims Act, and that this conduct also violated the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, and a state statute protecting elders from abuse and neglect in nursing homes," Campbell's office said in a news release Monday.

A majority of the settlement — the largest against a nursing home company in state history, Campbell's office said — will go toward improving conditions inside Next Step's nursing homes, including hiring staff and wage increases. The remaining $750,000 will go to MassHealth and the state's Long-Term Care Facility Quality Improvement Fund. Next Step will also have to hire an independent overseer to monitor improvements.