A Concord-based corporation that oversaw a 190-bed nursing home in that city agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle federal allegations of “grossly substandard” care, authorities said Tuesday.
Tranquility, Inc., which operates the San Miguel Villa nursing home at 1050 San Miguel Road in Concord, was accused of submitting false claims by billing the Medicare and Medi-Cal programs for what U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hinds called the “grossly substandard nursing home services” it provided to residents between 2012 and 2017. Hinds, of the Northern District of California, announced the settlement in a statement.
The nursing home patients at San Miguel Villa were overmedicated with psychotropic drugs and fell often, according to the allegations. They also were exposed to altercations between other residents and experienced other physical and mental harm, Hinds said.
“Residents of nursing homes are among the most vulnerable in our community, and they rely on Medicare and Medi-cal programs to provide the care and services they must have,” Hinds said in her statement. “Nursing homes are entrusted to impart competent and quality care to their residents.”
The facility continues to operate. San Miguel Villa spokesman Daniel Kramer said Tuesday it has been under different management since June 2020.
“Our company’s principal focus is, and will continue to be, providing the best patient-driven health care,” Kramer said in an email, adding that “since the assessment of those fines, San Miguel has worked around the clock to help ensure that our staff has the training, support, and resources to provide consistently high-quality care and that all concerns are addressed as soon as possible with patients and their families.”
Kramer said that under new management, the facility has retained additional staff and decreased agency nursing hours by 150%. Staffing levels have risen about 30%, he said.
“Since the management change, we’ve assessed all department managers and made a number of changes,” Kramer said. “The entire team has made great improvements and we are proud of the care we provide and the overall satisfaction of our residents and their families. The local community and hospital systems have recognized these changes and we’ve since become preferred partners with the major hospitals in the area.”
The settled allegations were not related to a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility in 2020 that killed 14 people. That outbreak affected 62 residents and 13 workers at the facility — information that came to light in June 2020.
Source: www.mercurynews.com