Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, recently pushed for a robust federal response after reports surfaced of egregious conditions at the Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center in Andover, N.J. Grassley specifically called 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.
Last week, CMS announced it plans to terminate Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center from the Medicare program effective June 25. The termination notice states that the nursing home “no longer meets the requirements for participation as a skilled nursing facility in the Medicare program” following “a careful review of the facts” from surveys and on-site visits.
“The reports of abuse and awful conditions at the Woodland nursing home were disturbing, and to make matters worse, it seems these problems have persisted for years. I’m glad CMS has listened to my oversight request and taken steps to investigate further, which has now led them to terminate service. If a nursing home fails to recognize the basic rights of its residents, then they can’t be trusted to continue caring for patients. Families deserve to have peace of mind that their loved ones are being cared for safely,” Grassley said.
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 ranged 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.
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.
Grassley’s push for additional federal oversight began after he previously called for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to open a Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) investigation into nursing homes in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
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