Grassley Leads Push for Federal Response to Failures by N.J. Nursing Home

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today is pushing federal agencies to take action following recent revelations of egregious conditions at the Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center in Andover, N.J. In a letter to the Justice Department, co-signed by Senate Aging Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Grassley is calling for an investigation into possible violations of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). Separately, Grassley is calling on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to detail its own review of Woodland, including decisions about whether to terminate the facility’s participation in Medicare and Medicaid.

 

In February, the New Jersey Department of Health suspended admissions at Woodland after finding significant allegations of abuse and neglect of nursing home residents at its facility. The allegations range from verbal abuse to failure to respond to residents in distress. The state also found that the facility failed to ensure staff took precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 which is likely why Woodland has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections in the state. Sadly, this is not the first time Woodland has been exposed for egregious conduct at its facility. In 2020, police discovered 17 bodies in a makeshift morgue which later prompted a CMS investigation. CMS found numerous health and safety violations and ordered the facility to develop a corrective action plan. However, deficiencies remain, and in February, CMS threatened to terminate Woodland’s participation in Medicare and Medicaid. Woodland has until to August 2022 to come into compliance with Federal requirements.

 

The letters follow Grassley’s 2021 call for DOJ to open a CRIPA investigation into nursing homes in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan.

 

Text of Grassley’s letter to DOJ and CMS follow:

Attorney General Garland:

 

I am writing to request the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center (Woodland) in Andover, New Jersey under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997. Evidence suggests that Woodland has subjected its residents to egregious and flagrant conditions that have caused them to suffer serious physical and emotional harm.

 

On February 14, 2022, the New Jersey Department of Health suspended admission at Woodland after finding significant allegations of abuse and neglect of its hundreds of residents.^[1] According to news outlets, New Jersey surveyors released a “blistering [16 page] report” detailing Woodland’s failures and licensure violations which included “failure to respond to residents in distress,” “verbal and other abuse of residents,” and “serious staffing shortages that would have left overloaded workers scrambling to bathe, feed, and clean patients.”^[2] New Jersey surveyors also found Woodland failed to monitor for signs of COVID-19 among their residents, which could be why cases increased by 102 in the span of just one week between December 23, 2021 and January 1, 2022.^[3] (As of February 25, 2022, the New Jersey Department of Health reported Woodland has an active viral outbreak with 250 reported cases of COVID-19 among residents, 145 cases of COVID-19 among staff, and 16 COVID-19 confirmed deaths.^[4] These figures represent the highest rate of infection of any nursing home in the State.)

 

Sadly, allegations against Woodland are not new. In April 2020, police discovered seventeen bodies in a makeshift morgue at Woodland, then known as Andover Subacute Rehabilitation Center.^[5] This discovery made national headlines, which promoted the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to investigate the facility shortly thereafter. CMS investigators found numerous health and safety violations, including the facility’s “failure to log residents’ temperatures,” “incorrect[] use[] of protective equipment (PPE),” and, “rooming COVID-19 patients with those that were asymptomatic.”^[6] CMS concluded Woodland was in “immediate jeopardy,” imposed a civil penalty of $220,235, and required Woodland to submit a “Plan of Correction” within ten days.^[7] Separate from CMS’s enforcement actions, Woodland currently maintains a one-star rating from CMS’s “Nursing Home Compare” tool and has numerous documented deficiencies as of March 2020 relating to health inspections, staffing, and quality measures.^[8]

 

On February 9, 2022, CMS threatened to terminate Woodland from participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs “unless substantial compliance [was] achieved before March 3, 2022.”^[9] CMS has since extended their deadline to August 15, 2022, telling Woodland that “[more] corrections must be made in order for the facility to continue to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”^[10]

 

Due to the totality of these circumstances, the Federal government must intervene to prevent abuse and neglect of elderly patients at Woodland.^[11] In March 2021, we encouraged DOJ to conduct a full and complete investigation into nursing home deaths at facilities in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and Michigan.^[12] DOJ declined to open a CRIPA investigation into nursing homes in New York, Pennsylvania, or Michigan, but indicated it opened a CRIPA investigation into two nursing facilities operated by the State of New Jersey, including Memorial Home at Menlo Park and the Veterans Memorial Home at Paramus.^[13] We strongly urge the DOJ to consider expanding its investigation to include Woodland as well, especially in light of other related ongoing investigations. 

 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

 

Charles E. Grassley

Ranking Member

Judiciary Committee

U.S. Senate

 

Tim Scott

Ranking Member

Select Committee on Aging

U.S. Senate

 

Thom Tillis

U.S. Senator

 

***

 

Dear Administrator Brooks-LaSure:

 

I am writing to request an update on Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center (Woodland) in Andover, New Jersey efforts to comply with Federal conditions of participation. According to news outlets, in a letter dated February 9, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) gave Woodland until March 3, 2022 to correct egregious and flagrant conditions at its nursing facility or else face expulsion from participating in Medicare or Medicaid.  (CMS has since extended their deadline to August 15, 2022. ) The decision to close a nursing home, especially in rural areas, is a difficult choice and requires the Federal government to balance the needs of the community with the rights of nursing home residents and their families. However, in this case, problems at Woodland have persisted for years, calling into question the facility’s ability to care for its residents.

 

In 2017, Woodland, then known as Andover Subacute Rehabilitation Center, agreed to pay $888,000 to revolve allegations under the False Claims Act that it provided “substandard or worthless nursing services to some patients.”  According to the Department of Justice, Woodland agreed to enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, to enhance quality assurance and accountability at its facility.

 

Then, in April 2020, police discovered seventeen bodies in a makeshift morgue at Woodland.  This discovery made national headlines, which promoted CMS to investigate the facility shortly thereafter. CMS investigators found numerous health and safety violations, including the facility’s “failure to log residents’ temperatures,” “incorrect[] use[] of protective equipment,” and, “rooming COVID-19 patients with those that were asymptomatic.”  CMS concluded Woodland was in “immediate jeopardy,” imposed a civil penalty of $220,235, and required Woodland to submit a “Plan of Correction” within ten days.  Separate from CMS’s enforcement actions, Woodland currently maintains a one-star rating from CMS’s “Nursing Home Compare” tool and has numerous documented deficiencies as of March 2020 relating to health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. 

 

Unfortunately, little has changed since CMS imposed hefty fines on Woodland in 2020. New Jersey state surveyors recently released a “blistering [16 page] report” detailing Woodland’s failures and licensure violations which included “failure to respond to residents in distress,” “verbal and other abuse of residents,” and “serious staffing shortages that would have left overloaded workers scrambling to bathe, feed, and clean patients.”  New Jersey surveyors also found Woodland failed to monitor for signs of COVID-19 among their residents, which could be why cases increased by 102 in the span of just one week between December 23, 2021 and January 1, 2022.  (As of February 25, 2022, the New Jersey Department of Health reported Woodland has an active viral outbreak with 250 reported cases of COVID-19 among residents, 145 cases of COVID-19 among staff, and 16 COVID-19 confirmed deaths.  These figures represent the highest rate of infection of any nursing home in the State.)

 

On February 9, 2022, CMS threatened to terminate Woodland from participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs “unless substantial compliance [was] achieved before March 3, 2022.”  CMS has since extended their deadline to August 15, 2022, telling Woodland that “[more] corrections must be made in order for the facility to continue to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.”  As the first deadline for Woodland has now passed, I ask that CMS produce the following information and documents by March 31, 2022:

 

1. An electronic copy of CMS’s February 9, 2022 letter to Woodland administrators detailing its failure to comply with Federal conditions of participation in Medicare or Medicaid.

 

2. An electronic copy of Woodland’s corrective action plan and anticipated time of correction.

 

3. A detailed explanation of the actions Woodland has taken to come into compliance with CMS’s initial March 3, 2022 deadline.

 

4. A detailed explanation of the remaining actions Woodland must make in order to comply with Federal requirements by August 15, 2022.

 

5. A written explanation of CMS’s decision whether or not to terminate Woodland’s participation in Medicare or Medicaid. If CMS decides to terminate Woodland’s participation in Medicare or Medicaid, when will CMS require Woodland to provide a plan for relocation of residents?  

 

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

 

Charles E. Grassley

Ranking Member

Judiciary Committee

U.S. Senate

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