Wareham Healthcare sent termination notice by MassHealth

Wareham Healthcare, the nursing home at 50 Indian Neck Road, was identified today by MassHealth as having failed to meet the standards and requirements set by the state during the pandemic and a historic record of poor performance. 

The facility has been sent a termination notice, which is the first step in eliminating it from the MassHealth program -- which could lead to the facility’s closure. MassHealth is the name for Medicaid and the Children’s Health and Insurance Program in Massachusetts. 

As of June 29, the facility had between one and ten coronavirus cases and zero deaths.

The facility, which was listed as being chronically low-occupancy and low quality by the Nursing Facility Task Force in January 2020, was only 59 percent occupied as of April 1, 2019. And 81 percent of the occupants were there through MassHealth. 

In 2017 and 2019, the facility was ranked at one star out of a possible five by Medicare, which bases its ratings on health inspections, staffing, and quality of resident care measures.

MassHealth stated that Wareham Healthcare has “demonstrated poor adherence to the most basic infection control practices,” including a failure to properly use personal protective equipment and properly group patients who had tested positive for coronavirus. MassHealth also cited inadequate staffing ratios.

MassHealth said that the facility had poor coronavirus testing and reporting, inadequate staffing, and that it communicated poorly with the state and refused infection control assistance from the state. 

Wareham Healthcare, along with the other facilities named -- Town and Country in Lowell and Hermitage Healthcare in Worcester -- will have the opportunity to dispute MassHealth’s findings. 

MassHealth members and families can contact MassHealth with any questions by calling 800-841-2900, then pressing option 3 and then option 2.

MassHealth will help members wishing to transfer out of the facility during and after the termination process. Wareham Healthcare may also face an admissions freeze or other enforcement actions.

Officials at Wareham Healthcare, or its parent company Next Step Healthcare, could not immediately be reached for comment.