The United States has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against ProMedica Health System, Inc. and several of its affiliates, including HCR ManorCare Inc. and four nursing homes located in Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia. The action was announced by U.S. Attorney David Metcalf for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Department of Justice.
ProMedica, a nonprofit based in Toledo, Ohio, owned and managed the four named nursing facilities from 2018 to 2023: ProMedica Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation - Pottstown (Pennsylvania), ProMedica Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation - Riverview (Ohio), ProMedica Skilled Nursing, Rehabilitation - Greenville East (South Carolina), and ProMedica Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation - Imperial (Virginia).
According to the government’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, these nursing homes provided what it described as non-existent or grossly substandard skilled nursing care that did not meet requirements set out in the Nursing Home Reform Act between 2017 and 2023. The complaint alleges that staff failed to develop or follow individualized care plans for residents.
Specific allegations include inadequate wound care leading to pressure ulcers, insufficient hygiene maintenance such as failure to provide required showers, and lack of appropriate assistance with feeding that resulted in severe weight loss among residents. In some cases, according to federal authorities, defendants falsely documented resident medical records to indicate care had been provided when it had not.
“An increasing number of older adults and persons with disabilities are residing in long-term care facilities. These residents are often particularly vulnerable to inadequate assessment and treatment of their needs,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Beginning almost 30 years ago, the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania filed some of the first False Claims Act complaints and reached some of the first settlements in the United States to focus on quality of care in the nursing home environment. Today’s complaint again serves notice to the nursing home industry that a failure to provide adequate nursing home care will not be tolerated. Public funds expended for nursing home residents must result in appropriate care, which is what the government pays for, and the law requires.”
“The Justice Department is committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our society, including elderly and infirm individuals who depend on nursing homes for safe and dignified skilled nursing care,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Grossly substandard care places nursing home residents at serious risk of harm and this suit sends a clear message that we will pursue healthcare providers who fail to meet their legal obligations to provide required care and who betray the trust of the residents they are meant to serve.”
The investigation involved collaboration between multiple agencies including Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Degnan and Gerald B. Sullivan from Philadelphia's office as well as attorneys from the Fraud Section at DOJ's Commercial Litigation Branch with support from investigators at Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.
The lawsuit is identified as United States et al., ex rel Compton v HCR ManorCare Inc et al., No 16-cv-0851 (E.D.Pa). Federal officials emphasized that these are allegations only; there has been no finding or admission of liability.
