Operator of Brighton Rehab and Wellness Center ordered to pay back millions in restitution
The companies that operated two Pittsburgh-area nursing homes will have to pay more than $15 million in restitution following convictions of healthcare fraud.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti of the Western District of Pennsylvania, Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services, Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, and Mt. Lebanon Operations were found guilty by a federal jury in late 2023.
Evidence during the trial showed that the nursing homes falsified information provided to the Pennsylvania Department of Health as well as with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to show that the facilities were in compliance with government regulations.
"Protecting the health, safety, and dignity of the residents of these nursing facilities and ensuring adequate staff to care for these vulnerable resident populations has been our office's primary focus and objective throughout this prosecution," said Acting U.S. Attorney Rivetti. "Choosing to prioritize profits over patient care, these facilities lied and falsified records regarding meeting minimum requisite staffing levels to avoid sanctions and to continue to receive federal funding, all the while failing to provide residents with the level and quality of care they deserved."
The Brighton facility became one of the hot spots in the state for COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020, and the National Guard sent in more than three dozen members to help during the height of the pandemic.
Does this mean Brighton Rehab will close?
In October 2024, several sources reached out to KDKA-TV with concerns over Brighton Rehab and Wellness Center, saying they fear for the future of the facility. Leaders at multiple neighboring facilities say they were contacted this week asking if they had open beds to take some of the patients who live there.
Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services confirmed to KDKA Investigates that the facility owed the state more than $9 million in unpaid nursing fees, but said DHS does not have the authority to close the facility for that reason.
"In the future, if Brighton Wellness and Rehabilitation intends to make its own business decision to close, DHS would work with residents, their families and guardians, counties, managed care partners, and DOH to ensure that residents are safely transferred to other appropriate options for care," the Pa. DHS said to KDKA-TV at the time.
