Milton Nursing Home Settles With AG For $90k After Resident Death

MILTON, MA — On Thursday, Attorney General Maura Healey announced a $90,000 settlement with a Milton nursing home to resolve allegations that it committed neglect of a resident, resulting in their death, and failed to respond adequately to an emergency.

The Attorney General is requiring Milton HC Operating, LLC, which operates Brush Hill Care Center in Milton to pay $90,000 to the Long-Term Care Facility Quality Improvement Fund - a fund administered by the Department of Public Health to improve the safety and quality of care provided in long-term care facilities.

On October 30, 2017, a Brush Hill resident was found unresponsive and having difficulty breathing. The AG's Office says that Brush Hill failed to adequately respond to the emergency situation. According to the press release, they say there was a delay in officially calling the situation an emergency and that Brush Hill staff did not call a Code Blue over the intercom, causing a delay in contacting EMTs after the resident was found.

The unidentified resident died later that day.

The AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division found this information after launching an investigation in 2019 from a referral from the Department of Public Health.

“Nursing homes are required by law to have protocols in place to ensure adequate treatment of residents and to handle emergency situations appropriately,” said AG Healey. “This settlement holds this facility responsible for failing to comply with those regulations, resulting in the tragic death of a resident. We’ll continue to prioritize cases like this to protect the health and safety of nursing home residents.”

This settlement comes in part of AG Healey's efforts to strengthen accountability held by nursing homes across the state.

In 2019 alone, Healey reached a series of settlements with seven nursing homes to resolve allegations of endangerment that resulted in injury, or in severe cases, death.