COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. —The parent company of the Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at the center of a criminal elder abuse investigation operates several other low-rated nursing homes in Virginia.
Innovative Healthcare Management LLC is listed as the owner of the Colonial Heights facility, where more than a dozen employees have been charged in connection to a 74-year-old patient who prosecutors said died as a result of inadequate care. Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has a 1 out of 5 star rating, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The for-profit company also operates five other facilities in Virginia, according to CMS records, some of which have been the focus of previous CBS 6 investigations.
Innovative Healthcare Management's overall rating from (CMS) is 1.8 out of 5 stars, reflecting poor performance in inspections according to federal standards. The company's facilities also have much lower staffing levels than the national average, in addition to higher-than-average employee turnover rates.
One of its facilities, Wonder City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Hopewell, has been identified as a candidate for "special focus facility" designation. Facilities identified under this program exhibit "a pattern of serious problems that have persisted over a long period of time" and "rarely address underlying systemic problems that give rise to repeated cycles of serious deficiencies," according to CMS.
Nationally, the company ranks #516 out of 603 nursing home chains, placing it in the bottom 15%, per CMS overall ratings.
When asked for a response or explanation to CMS ratings, a spokesperson for Innovative Healthcare Management said, "We are focused, as always, on the care of our residents. Their well-being remains first and foremost."
Among the other facilities it owns are Glenburnie and Westport nursing homes located in Henrico. Both are also designated as one-star facilities.
CBS 6 recently reported on issues at Westport Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, where Heather Tyler alleged her husband was left to sit in his own urine for hours, his clothes had not been changed, his room conditions were dirty, and he suffered unexplained injuries.
“Absolutely pitiful, disgusting, deplorable, any word you can think of that’s horrendous is the word for it," Tyler told CBS 6. "I was angry. So incredibly angry. I just cried. Cried and cried and cried."
Another concerned family member, Steve Lambert, claimed he found his brother at Westport, who was unable to move himself, in a prone position and in a bed covered in somebody else's dead skin flakes.
"No one should have to live and be cared for under those conditions," Lambert said.
Tyler and Lambert filed complaints with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), the state agency responsible for investigating and inspecting nursing homes. Facing a backlog of complaints, VDH took eight months to even begin investigating their allegations.
VDH eventually substantiated their claims and, according to inspection reports, discovered that staff at Westport failed to provide a patient with HIV medication for three weeks, while inaccurately documenting that the medication had been administered.
Democratic Delegate Rodney Willett, representing Henrico County, recognized the state's difficulties in regulating nursing homes as a "significant concern" and plans to support legislation aimed at improving VDH's oversight capabilities.
"What we've seen is just a lack of people, lack of inspectors, being able to get to the facilities," Willett said.
As CBS 6 previously reported, the health agency faces a 46% vacancy rate of nursing home inspectors. Accordingly, 70% of Virginia's nursing homes are overdue for inspection, the third worst rate in the country, and VDH is struggling to investigate complaints within required timelines.
Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Shelton told CBS 6 that the state has limited enforcement powers in holding poor performers accountable. For example, VDH cannot impose fines without petitioning in court, require staff training, or put a license on probation. Shelton said these are typical measures that every other state in the region has access to.
"It's not acceptable that Virginia lags in this area, and the department's ready to step up," Willett said. "I think they're looking for these additional resources and additional options, additional flexibilities, in terms of how they enforce those requirements, and so I think you're going to see a change."
The delegate also expressed support for increasing VDH's licensing fees so the agency could hire more health investigators, and he said there will likely be a proposed budget amendment to allot more funding for oversight activities.
During the last General Assembly, Willett proposed a bill to enhance ownership disclosure requirements during the nursing home license application process, but it did not pass. He suggested that's an area the state Board of Health could regulate in the future.
“I do think that regardless of who's operating the facility, we have our standards, and we need to enforce those standards," Willett said.
The Virginia Health Care Association, which lobbies on behalf of the nursing home industry, expressed support for raising licensing fees, yet refrained from saying whether it supports VDH seeking additional enforcement powers, pointing to sanctions already in place at the federal level.
"Nursing homes are presently subject to significant sanctions and penalties based on the outcome of federal surveys conducted by VDH OLC. The sanctions are determined based on the seriousness of the deficiencies cited and the number of residents affected, whether the facility has a history of repeated deficiencies, and additional factors," organization spokesperson Amy Hewett said.
However, Hewett said it's "essential" that VDH is fully staffed with inspectors to ensure oversight and resident well being.
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