1 Waltham Nursing Home Fails, 1 Passes First State Inspections

WALTHAM, MA — The Marist Hill Nursing & Rehabilitation Center scored 22 out of 28 in the first round of adherence checks by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, making it one of 119 nursing homes in the state to hit a 20-point threshold to pass, but fail in one or more of the six core standards, meaning they were also found to be in noncompliance.

Another 12 nursing homes failed to meet the 20-point threshold for compliance. The remaining 228 nursing homes scored 20 points or higher, including meeting the six core standards.

Read this, too: More Than 1,000 Test Positive For Coronavirus In Waltham

The inspections were the first in the COVID-19 Nursing Facility Accountability and Support Program announced by Gov. Charlie Baker on April 27. The audits, which are funded by $130 million the Baker administration allocated to slow the spread of the coronavirus in nursing homes, will be conducted every two weeks.

More than 30 residents at Marist Hill Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, which is licensed for 123 beds, have tested positive for the virus that causes the illness known as COVID-19.

Waltham has one of the highest rates of coronavirus infection in the state, with the 13 highest number of cases as of Thursday.

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Other Waltham nursing homes included in the report:

• Marist Hill Nursing & Rehabilitation Center Middlesex County scored 22 out of 28 and was listed as not being in adherence by the state because it failed to pass in at least one area of core competency.
• Meadow Green Nursing and Rehabilitation Center scored 28 out of 28 and was listed as being in adherence by the state.

The state didn't release a breakdown of scores for individual nursing homes showing where they failed to comply with the standards laid out in the program's compliance checklist.

Long-term care facilities account for 61 percent coronavirus-related deaths in Massachusetts. Of the states 88,970 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Wednesday, 18,801 were either patients or workers in long-term care facilities.

Read the complete nursing home inspection report.

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Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).

- Patch Staff Dave Copeland Contributed to this report.