![]() That keeps them from inflating numbers, as advocates say they did before the requirement, but it might mean no-shows are counted, according to staffers. Nursing homes report hours by submitting payroll data each quarter, a rule that took effect in 2018. Staffing levels might even be worse than what are reported to CMS, say former and current employees at a number of the county’s facilities. All three facilities no longer are on the list, though Hillcrest is now a candidate for it, according to the most recent report. In the Berkshires, that Special Focus Facilities list, in January 2021, included Hillcrest Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Pittsfield, Fairview Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Great Barrington, and Craneville Place of Dalton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. The industry’s federal regulator also keeps a list of troubled nursing homes that need closer surveillance. Most facilities, including those in Berkshire County, failed to ensure adequate care of residents through proper staffing long before the coronavirus. When COVID-19 arrived, insufficient staffing is believed to have contributed to runaway infections that burned through facilities across the U.S., killing scores of residents. Charlie Baker and the state Department of Public Health to require specific staffing minimums. Poor staffing ratios have festered for more than a decade in the majority of county nursing facilities, and continue today, despite steps this year by Gov. Low numbers of caregivers for residents are linked to most nursing home problems. But, a number of families and staffers who contacted The Eagle were afraid that publishing their names might affect the care their relatives receive, or their ability to work in the industry. Yet, Gigliotti’s story is one of many like it told to The Eagle during the past year, as the coronavirus pandemic exposed problems with care inside Berkshire County’s nursing homes. The facility makes it clear that residents and their families can file complaints with the state or work with a local ombudsman who advocates for residents, he said. Gigliotti says she complained to staff about her father’s care Morris says he can’t speak to a specific situation, because of privacy laws. Kevin Morris, the owner of the facility, said that, sometimes, people with dementia call out and that Gigliotti might be misinterpreting this as neglect. Gigliotti says a nurse once told her: “I feel so sorry for the patients here." Springside has been flagged by federal regulators for past abuse, including assault, under the previous owner. He would call us crying every night, ‘Please get me out of here.’”Ī room at Springside Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Pittsfield. “They didn’t shower him for the first month he was there. “One time I went into his room, and from his wrist down into his fingernails he was covered with ,” she said. She said her father often is left lying in his waste for hours, is declining mentally and has lost 20 pounds. ![]() She also worries that he’ll lose his house in Cheshire to the facility’s owner when the money runs out. She wonders how long his money will last. “He’s actually paying more than $10,000 a month to get neglected,” Gigliotti said. Poor staffing ratios have festered for more than a decade in the majority of county nursing facilities, and continue today. Low numbers of caregivers for residents is linked to most nursing home problems. After a stay in a burn unit in New York, he arrived at the facility, since the family can’t care for him at home. He is paying for his stay out of pocket, after he ran through his Medicare allotment and because he does not qualify for MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program. Her father, a retired engineer who is 85, has lived at Springside Rehabilitation and Nursing Center since April, after a reaction to a narcotic caused a serious skin condition.
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