Newark Manor agrees to $381,000 settlement in case brought by state

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Newark Manor Nursing Home (also known as Premiere Healthcare, Inc.), its owner Bruce Boyer, administrator David Boyer and former administrator Susan Comegys have agreed to a $381,000 settlement with the State of Delaware.

Newark Manor is a privately owned for-profit intermediate care nursing facility in Newark and licensed by the State of Delaware.

“Elderly nursing home residents are among the most vulnerable citizens of Delaware. We are committed to holding facilities accountable and will not tolerate substandard care, or an unsafe environment, for residents of facilities. Today’s settlement holds Newark Manor and its owner responsible for the substandard care provided and sends a message that we will continue to hold facility owners responsible for resident care provided throughout Delaware,” said Attorney General Kathy  Jennings.

The civil settlement resolves allegations that, from 2011 through 2017 Newark Manor:

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  • Persistently failed to provide adequate nursing care including supervision to vulnerable residents of Newark Manor, causing falls, fractures, and other significant injuries;
  • Failed to meet the required daily care hours per resident;
  • Failed to act on monthly pharmacy recommendations, and supply prescribed medication to certain residents;
  • Failed to take steps so that residents were not burned by hot coffee, and failed to adequately treat burns;
  • Failed to maintain hygiene standards;
  • Failed to maintain effective strategies to prevent falls;
  • Failed to ensure that the resident environment was free of accident hazards; and
  • Created incorrect care plans for their residents.

Newark Manor and its owner have agreed to pay $381,000 to resolve this case with $175,000 going to the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance within the Department of Health and Social Services.

Newark Manor’s owner will reinvest the remaining $206,000 into capital improvements at the facility that will enhance resident care.

Additionally, Newark Manor will be subject to a two-year Corporate Integrity Agreement, which subjects Newark Manor, its owner and management, to compliance obligations. The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit will monitor Newark Manor’s compliance with the settlement terms.

Director Christina Kontis, Deputy Attorney General Laura Najemy, special investigator Paul Reutter, nurse analyst Brian Galbreath, all of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, along with forensic accountant Clyde Hartman of the White Collar Crime Unit, handled this case.

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