HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico Health and Rehabilitation Center, located in the county's east end, is currently being fined every day after state health inspectors found a staff member sexually abused two residents and two other workers. This marks at least six incidents of sexual abuse occurring at the facility since 2023, according to inspection records.
As CBS 6 previously reported, Henrico Health and Rehab was placed on a federal list of the country's lowest-rated nursing homes earlier this year due to having a "history of serious quality issues." As part of the so-called Special Focus Facilities program, which is reserved for nursing homes that "rarely address underlying systemic problems," the facility is now subject to increased oversight, escalating penalties, and potential termination of its Medicare and Medicaid provider agreement.
Since being enrolled in the program, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) had made at least two visits to the facility which resulted in violations and a subsequent enforcement action.
A February inspection revealed the following citations:
- A failure to provide a comfortable, homelike environment after a resident reported he was placed in an unfinished room with no cove base and cold air blowing through the open areas. While a maintenance director told inspectors the room was not appropriate for a resident to be in, the administrator told inspectors she "had nothing else to say" about it, was "not going to answer" a question about whether room was appropriate, and did "not agree" with the findings because the "issues were fixed."
- A failure to remove a midline catheter after discharging a resident, increasing their chances of complications and infections
- Violating quality care standards and failing to assess and monitor a morbidly obese immobile diabetic resident by not weighing the resident as ordered, omitting medications for 2.5 months as he experienced "dangerously high" blood sugar readings, and discontinuing a successful therapeutic diet. VDH stated a physician was not made aware of the concerns and did not intervene. According to the report, the resident's weights were seemingly not completed "for staff convenience."
- Inadequate nurse staffing levels identified in 2024 that were "excessively low" on weekends and failed to maintain the highest practicable well-being of each resident. Inspectors noted that the current staffing schedules were sufficient and residents were observed to be clean and engaged in activities at the time of the inspection.
Then in May, another inspection resulted in citations for:
- A staff member failing to properly use a Hoyer Lift, a task that typically requires two people, causing a resident to get hit in the head by a sling bar. The resident suffered a small injury.
- A failure to protect two residents from sexual abuse, the most serious violation in which actual harm was identified.
According to the allegations in the inspection report, in February, a receptionist made sexual comments to a resident and then showed the resident a photo of him performing oral sex on another person. In March, the staff member blew a kiss to the same resident and made smacking sounds toward him. The resident reported feeling "humiliated" and "angry."
For a second resident, in April, the receptionist allegedly entered his room and said he wanted to perform oral sex on him. When the resident returned to the facility later that day from a dialysis appointment, the receptionist was standing in the business office with the lights off and beckoned the resident to come inside.
Then, a nurse aide reported that, in March, the receptionist was sexually inappropriate with them by standing close and making "funny noises" in their ear. Separately, a transportation driver reported in March that the employee tried to grab his private area twice.
After learning of the incidents, the facility reportedly terminated the employee and filed a police report. However, VDH still cited the facility for failing to comply with requirements to report allegations of abuse to the appropriate agencies within two hours.
Henrico Health and Rehab has already been cited for sexual abuse against residents back in 2023, when a nurse aide allegedly shaved a resident's pubes without any medical orders to do so and covered another resident's face with a washcloth and "moved [his] penis from side to side and back and forth until it was hurting," according to a Board of Nursing case file.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal regulatory agency of nursing homes, sent a letter to the administrator in late June saying CMS will impose a $1,940 fine against the facility every day the facility remains out of compliance with regulatory standards. The fine had a start date of February 28, 2025, and will remain in effect until VDH determines the facility is back in compliance.
According to VDH, the agency has conducted a revisit since the May inspection, but findings have not yet been finalized.
In response to the inspection findings, Henrico Health and Rehab spokesperson Mindie Barnett said, the facility is “actively engaged with CMS and we are maintaining open communication regarding the recent citations and necessary remedies. As noted in the survey, the facility is currently operating with appropriate staffing. Our dedicated team is working tirelessly to enhance training and education, aiming to prevent any future issues and to ensure the highest standards of care are always met. This includes daily reviews, regular audits, and necessary course of action corrections and updated care plans for residents. We are committed to full compliance.”
She added, "Our team at Henrico HRC is deeply committed to continuous improvement and transparent communication, always with the best interests of our residents at heart. We appreciate their trust in us and support as we work to uphold the highest standards of care.”
Henrico Health and Rehab is operated by Medical Facilities of America, which runs more than 30 other facilities across Virginia including Colonial Heights, Glenburnie, and Westport, which have all also recently been fined by CMS:
- Colonial Heights: $155,400 fine assessed, according to a June 2025 CMS letter
- Glenburnie: $60,809 fine assessed, according to a May 2025 CMS letter
- Westport: $13,575 fine assessed, according to a January 2025 CMS letter
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