New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured $1.3 million from the Center for Disability Services Holding Corporation d/b/a St. Margaret’s Center (St. Margaret’s), a not-for-profit pediatric skilled nursing facility in Albany, after an investigation revealed years of resident neglect and repeated failures to comply with federal and state nursing home laws.
St. Margaret’s provides skilled nursing and rehabilitation services to chronically ill and disabled children and other residents insured by Medicaid. The investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York (NDNY) revealed that from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2023, St. Margaret’s fraudulently certified it was meeting state and federal nursing home standards while failing to provide adequate care to the children and other residents living there.
The facility was consistently understaffed and neglected its young residents, jeopardizing their health and safety. Under a settlement with OAG and NDNY, St. Margaret’s will pay $1.3 million to Medicaid and be monitored by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) for five years.
‘New York nursing home residents, especially children and their families, always deserve high-quality care and attention,’ said Attorney General James. ‘For years, St. Margaret’s failed to follow the law and endangered vulnerable children with poor staffing and care. Our laws set clear standards to protect the health and dignity of nursing home residents, including youth, and I will not hesitate to take action when nursing homes violate these laws.’
Under New York law, owners of nursing homes have a ‘special obligation’ to ensure the highest possible quality of life for residents, and to have enough staff to provide adequate care to all residents. Federal New York state laws also require Medicaid providers like St. Margaret’s to have an effective compliance program to ensure they are providing care as the laws require.
The investigation revealed that St. Margaret’s consistently failed to meet federal and state standards of care, endangering its vulnerable residents, including children. St. Margaret’s was not adequately staffed, and one inspection conducted by the New York Department of Health (DOH) found that the facility had failed to supervise three children, immediately jeopardizing their health and safety. In other instances, St. Margaret’s residents did not receive appropriate respiratory care and suffered from medication errors.
Based in part on DOH’s findings, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily placed St. Margaret’s into its Special Focus Facility program, signifying it was among the poorest performing nursing homes in the country. St. Margaret’s also failed to maintain an effective compliance program to ensure it was following the law and meeting its legal obligations to provide high-quality care. As a result, St. Margaret’s consistently failed to meet federal and state standards for care, yet it submitted false claims to Medicaid for payment certifying compliance with these standards.
Under the settlement announced today, St. Margaret’s admits wrongdoing and will pay $1,300,000 to Medicaid, of which $707,200 will go directly to New York state. The remaining $592,800 will be paid to the federal government. The HHS-OIG will monitor St. Margaret’s Center for five years, overseeing the care and con
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: NY AG
- Category: Public Corruption|Health Care Fraud
- Source: Official Source ↗
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