The Attorney General of Massachusetts has placed three nursing homes under temporary receivership, citing weeks of payroll issues and increasing care quality concerns.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced the receivership order Monday following a ruling in Suffolk Superior Court.
Staff at the three facilities — all operated by Newton, MA-based Blupoint Healthcare — raised the alarm earlier this month when they picketed to protest inconsistent payroll that they claim left some workers without pay for weeks.
Those facilities are Whitinsville’s Blackstone Valley Health, Amesbury’s Mill Town Health and Rehabilitation and South Hadley’s Pioneer Valley Health and Rehabilitation.
Dozens of staff have already left the Blupoint facilities due to the payroll issue, according to Specturm News.
The newly appointed receiver is tasked with managing facility finances, ensuring residents’ safety, maintaining relationships with remaining frontline staff and suppliers and could ultimately determine that facility closures are necessary, according to court documents.
The recent wave of staff departures may have exacerbated the growing concerns that Campbell cited in a statement announcing the receivership.
“When new information revealed the possibility of dangerous understaffing and poor quality of care, my office and the Department of Public Health promptly filed an emergency petition and secured a temporary receiver,” Campbell said.
Another court hearing had been scheduled for Thursday.
McKnight’s attempts to reach Blupoint Healthcare for comment were not successful.
State policymakers from both sides of the aisle have praised the receivership instruction, though some have urged the government to do even more to ensure the payroll issues are resolved.
“There’s still action that needs to be taken,” said state Sen. Ryan Fattman (R), as reported by Spectrum News. “Those employees who worked really hard to support this facility and take care of other people’s loved ones, residents and patients, they deserve to get what’s rightfully theirs.
Democrat state Sen. Jake Oliveira agreed, stressing that the new receiver must focus on “ensuring the safety, well-being, and dignity of both the residents and the hardworking staff who care for them.”
