A WCNC Charlotte investigation revealed nursing homes that were fined thousands of dollars after deadly COVID-19 infections spread within their walls also collected government bonuses that, in most cases, offset their original penalties.
WCNC Charlotte s analysis of twosets of federal data identified more than 100 nursing homes in the Carolinas that collected federal incentive payments despite infection control and COVID-19-related penalties, receiving a combined $10 million more in bonuses than penalties.
More than 80% of those nursing homes also had at least one resident die from COVID-19 since March 2020, according to an analysis of Pro Publica s Nursing Home Inspect database.
WHO GOT PAID:
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Representatives for the two facilities did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but New Jersey nursing home leaders, elder advocates and family members shared similar concerns about the enormous impact of COVID-19 on an already unstable industry. Nursing homes were particularly hard hit by the coronavirus, which was often introduced by staff members working at multiple sites and spread quickly among the vulnerable population.
Nursing home industry reforms
More than half the state’s COVID-19 fatalities involved deaths in nursing homes last spring, prompting the state to hire a consultant whose report identified multiple weaknesses within industry operations and state oversight. That led to reforms heralded by elder advocates but often opposed by industry leaders.
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After 83 years as a nursing home that filled a unique cultural niche in Emerson, Bergen County, the Armenian Nursing & Rehabilitation Center closed its doors on Easter Sunday, a victim of a changing industry and the coronavirus pandemic.
The Villa at Florham Park, a nursing home in southern Morris County with a 130-year history, is scheduled to follow suit in the weeks to come.
“This whole thing is so scary. You’re just hoping the next place isn’t going to close too,” said a New Jersey woman whose brother will be forced to move from The Villa, where he has lived for a year-and-a-half. “I guess it’s survival of the fittest or the ones that can change,” said the woman, who declined to be identified because of concerns over her brother’s privacy and care.