Veterans secretary says improving Charlotte Hall will take years

Conditions at the state’s only long-term care facility for veterans are improving, but Maryland’s secretary of Veterans Affairs warned it could be years before the facility earns a five-star rating.

Charlotte Hall continues to carry a one star out of five star rating with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The rating also carries a warning about citations for issues related to abuse of residents, according to federal regulators.

Secretary Anthony Woods’ update on Charlotte Hall Veterans Home before the House Health and Government Operations Committee was the first since a June Board of Public Works meeting. That June briefing came as the agency hired Georgia-based Pruitt Health to manage the St. Mary’s County facility.

Pruitt was awarded a contract to manage the facility for four years with an optional one-year extension. The total value of the contract is $200 million.

Anthony Woods. Courtesy photo.

“We’re working together to prioritize areas for corrective action — of which I would still say there are many — and to design the long term turnaround strategy for the home, which will take years for it to return to a five-star level rating,” Woods told the committee in the first briefing since an emergency law imposing legislative oversight took effect.

“Since I last briefed the Board of Public Works in June — so the last sort of public comments on the situation in Charlotte Hall — I would say that we’re making really good, continued progress,” Woods said.

Included in the changes are an effort to reduce the number of temporary staff, which at one point was as high as 90% of all clinical care at the facility. Woods said temporary nurses and aides now make up only 55% of workers at the facility.

“I also want to be clear: responsibility for turning around Charlotte Hall will not be Pruitt Health’s alone,” Woods told the committee. “Pruitt Health and the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs are working together to turn Charlotte Hall around.”

Charlotte Hall, a 400-plus bed facility is home to 249 residents. The 126-acre facility, which opened in 1985, offers assisted living and nursing home care to honorably discharged veterans and their spouses. Residents typically have more challenging physical and mental health care needs than residents of private facilities.

It is currently the only state-run veterans nursing home in Maryland. Another 128-bed facility is planned for Sykesville in Carroll County and could open as soon as 2027.

Soon after being sworn in, Gov. Wes Moore (D) was briefed on concerns at the facility, including reports of abuse of residents. The briefing led him to cancel a contract with HRM Maryland.

The previous operator at Charlotte Hall, whose parent company HRM is based in South Carolina, had managed the facility for the state since 2002.

“For too long veterans in Charlotte Hall lived out their golden years in poor conditions and neglect,” Woods told the committee. “Governor Moore was right when he described the situation as a moral failure of government and those words stung for me. They were very serious for my department. We take seriously the work of rebuilding and restoring trust not only with the residents but with the public.”

Woods said reports included “stories of rodents, lack of health and food, and inadequate care. These anecdotes were supported by independent inspectors’ reports that showed our veterans were not being treated with the dignity and respect that they had earned.”

Legislators acted quickly, before the end of session, passing emergency legislation requiring state agencies to report violations at state-run facilities to lawmakers.

Woods told lawmakers that a recent inspection by the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs revealed continued concerns.

“I would say the most recent inspection by the US Department of Veterans Affairs offered me a reminder that we have a lot more work to do. And so, this inspection found that we need to redouble our efforts to improve cleanliness and pest mitigation. And there was a medication error with one resident.”

Woods said the violations are concerning but not as severe as prior reports. But Woods said his department and Pruitt acted.

“So, the subcontractor responsible for dietary and janitorial services was notified that their contract is being terminated. This will allow Pruitt Health to take direct responsibility for these vital components of the operation,” Woods said. “Additionally, the temporary nurse who was responsible for the medication error has also been let go. Pruitt Health will be sharing their detailed corrective action plan by the November 7 deadline, which was required back to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.”

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