Former Pittsburgh Nursing Home Executive Indicted

Pittsburgh PA

25 February, 2021

12:58 PM

Description

PITTSBURGH, PA — The former administrator of a suburban Pittsburgh skilled nursing home has been indicted on charges of falsifying records and other criminal offense. The charges, announced Thursday by federal and state law enforcement officials, are the first related to an investigation into neglect and abuse at nursing facilities during the coronavirus outbreak. Susan Gilbert, 60, a former administrator of the Mount Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, is facing federal charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, health care fraud and obstruction of a federal audit. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Gilbert allegedly directed employees to falsify records so it appeared the facility met federal and state staffing requirements, according to the indictment. According to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady, from 2018 until 2020 Gilbert and as yet-unnamed co-conspirators deprived seniors of patient care using inflated nursing hours, falsified time cards and other methods concealed with two sets of records. "These criminal charges represent the first step in holding accountable those who put profit over the health and safety of seniors," Brady said in a prepared statement. Said state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office also is involved in the investigation: "These crimes put facility residents at risk by only providing a dangerously low amount of nursing staff just before COVID began to surge across the country. By filing these false reports, the facility met minimum staffing levels only on paper." The charges against Gilbert were announced five months after search warrants were served at the Mt. Lebanon facility and the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County, where more than 330 residents were infected with the coronavirus and more than 70 died. The Mt. Lebanon and Brighton facilities both are owned by what federal officials said is an ownership structure that operates multiple long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania. Shapiro confirmed Brighton is one of several nursing homes under criminal investigation for criminal neglect during the pandemic. "Our ongoing investigation will hold nursing and long-term care facilities criminally accountable wherever we find evidence someone neglected a resident," he said.