A Woburn, Mass.-based nursing home agreed to pay $4 million to settle allegations that it deliberately failed to properly staff its nursing homes.
Next Step Healthcare, co-founded and co-owned by Damien Dell'Anno and William Stephan, manages 16 nursing homes in Massachusetts. The state attorney general's office began investigating the nursing homes after complaints and referrals received from the Massachusetts health department. The yearslong investigation found low staffing levels at the facilities, which led to resident neglect and harm, according to a June 10 news release from the attorney general's office.
Under the settlement, Next Step agreed to budget staffing at state-mandated levels, hire an independent compliance monitor and pay $4 million. Of that $4 million, $750,000 will go to the commonwealth and $3.25 million will be overseen by the monitor and must be used for additional staffing and staff related initiatives over the next three years.
This is the largest nursing home settlement ever reached by the attorney general's office, according to the release.