AG probing nursing homes for neglect

Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that over the past several weeks his office opened criminal investigations into several Pennsylvania nursing homes and reaffirmed that the Office of Attorney General will investigate any nursing home engaging in criminal neglect of patients and residents.

While the Pennsylvania Department of Health has primary regulating and licensing authority of nursing homes throughout the Commonwealth, the Attorney General’s Care-Dependent Neglect Team, within the Medicaid Fraud Control Section, has jurisdiction on matters of criminal neglect.

“Protecting seniors and our most vulnerable in the care of others, is one of the core responsibilities of my office and we’re stepping up to protect older Pennsylvanians during this crisis. We

will hold nursing facilities and caretakers criminally accountable if they fail to properly provide care to our loved ones. While we salute and appreciate nursing home staff on the front lines during this pandemic, we will not tolerate those who mistreat our seniors and break the law,” said Shapiro.

“Active criminal investigations are already underway and we encourage people to share relevant complaints with us on our special tip line so we can best protect people in nursing homes.”

Under Pennsylvania law, Neglect of a Care-Dependent Person occurs under a high threshold of certain circumstances when the caretaker fails to properly provide for a person’s health, safety and welfare. The Attorney General’s Neglect Team reviews

allegations regarding specific instances of mistreatment of care-dependent adults who are endangered or suffer injury resulting from caretaker neglect to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate, and if so, prosecutes such cases.

The Office of Attorney General receives referrals for criminal investigation from local officials, the Department of Health, and members of the public.

The Attorney General’s

office is launching a public email for criminal complaints and reports of neglect in nursing home communities at neglectCOVID@attorneygeneral. gov. For concerns relating to wellness checks, adequate PPE, or COVID-19 testing within a facility, please contact Department of Health at 800-254-5164.

For emergencies involving immediate danger to the person, people should call 911 or 877-PA-HEALTH.