Pennsylvania Nursing Home Chain to Pay $2M Settlement

A Pennsylvania chain of nursing homes has agreed to pay $2 million to settle claims of failing to provide basic services to their customers.

Attorney General Bruce Beemer announced the settlement with Reliant Senior Care Holdings on Tuesday. The company operated 22 skilled nursing facilities throughout the state from 2012 to the present.

An investigation revealed Reliant left its facilities understaffed, making workers unable to help those living there with such basic needs as eating, drinking, showering and incontinence care.

About $1.25 million of the settlement will be used to help the Department of Health revamp its oversight of nursing homes.

Health Secretary Karen Murphy says the current regulations don’t consider the quality of residents’ lives.

She says money will help the state enact recommendations made by a task force formed last year.