Lynn nursing home owner settles about resident abuse claims

BOSTON – Attorney General Martha Coakley has reached a settlement with Sachem Associates, Inc., (d.b.a. Anne Carroll Nursing Home) and Carol Valeri, its sole owner and Administrator, which prohibits them from owning or operating a long term care facility in Massachusetts for 10 years.The Consent Judgment, filed this week in Suffolk Superior Court, resolves a lawsuit filed in November 2005, against the Anne Carroll Nursing Home, formerly located at 66 Johnson Street , Lynn , which alleged that physical and sexual abuse of residents by residents occurred at the 28-bed nursing home facility.The court also entered a judgment in the amount of $297,500 for receivership costs, civil penalties and legal fees and costs.”This settlement sends a strong message to long term care facilities that we will hold them accountable for failing to safeguard residents,” said Attorney General Coakley. “Owners and operators must supervise residents closely and comply with the law, including incident reporting, or they will pay the consequences.”Department of Public Health (DPH) investigators found that between November 2004 and October 2005, the facility had failed to investigate or report numerous allegations of resident against resident physical and sexual abuse.Between April and October 2005, there were nine allegations of sexual assault or inappropriate sexual conduct by one male resident against several other female residents. The Attorney General’s lawsuit alleges that the facility failed to prevent, investigate and accurately report these alleged incidents to DPH or other authority.DPH investigators conducted follow-up visits and found that nursing home residents remained at risk. According to the complaint, investigators also found that the facility was being mismanaged financially, as more than $140,000 in back taxes and delinquent nursing facility user fees were owed to the Internal Revenue Service, the state Department of Revenue, and the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy.As a result of the Attorney General’s Complaint, Suffolk Superior Court issued emergency orders appointing Attorney Robert J. Griffin as Temporary Receiver (“Receiver”) to manage and, if necessary close the facility. Soon after the filing, the Receiver closed the facility and transferred all residents. The complaint further alleges that the facility and Ms. Valeri violated the Massachusetts Patient Protection Receivership Statute, and the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act. Ms. Valeri and Sachem Associates denied any liability.Assistant Attorneys General Stephanie Kahn and Jacqueline Welch of Attorney General Martha Coakely’s Consumer Protection Division handled this matter along with Kalina Vendetti, Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Public Health.