Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is ending a two-decade-old contract with the management company of a veterans nursing home after ongoing reports of abuse, Maryland Matters reported March 16.
Mr. Moore said he heard of incidents at Charlotte Hall (Md.) Veterans Homes, a facility housing 276 veteran and veteran spouse residents, hours after being sworn into office. Complaints included abuse and fights between residents, he said in the report. "In fact, the situation happening at Charlotte Hall is a moral failure of government."
Due to the reports, he is ending the contract early with HMR Maryland, a South Carolina-based nursing home management company, which is in the seventh year of an eight-year contract.
The state awarded the management contract to a Maryland staffing company, but then canceled it when the company could not provide the nine nurses in the state's two-week timeline. Until a new management company is found, the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs will monitor HMR operations at the facility. Officials hope to award a new contract and transition HMR out in June, according to the report.
"We share the governor’s commitment to the care provided to veterans," HMR Maryland CEO Heyward Hilliard told Maryland Matters. "We will work with his team to ensure he has all the facts at his disposal. Under our management over the past 21 years, Charlotte Hall has received numerous national, state, and local awards and recognition. We are proud of our staff and the service they have provided to our nation's veterans. Our number one priority continues to be caring for the health and well-being of our veterans and staff, and this priority will continue throughout the transition. We love Charlotte Hall and we love the area, [but] they (the Moore administration) see this as a time to make a change."