National Healthcare Corporation Violations & Lawsuits

National Healthcare Corporation (NHC) is a large senior care company specializing in a positive healthcare journey through various programs. 

Dr. Carl Adams founded NHC in 1971, and since then, the company has grown to operate 80 skilled nursing facilities with over 10,000 beds in 10 states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Virginia and South Carolina). 

NHC also has 26 assisted living facilities, nine independent living facilities, three behavioral health hospitals, 30 hospice companies, and 34 home health agencies. 

About NHC

Those who work at National Healthcare Corporation facilities take great pride in providing excellent health care to patients and residents, regardless of what level of care they need. Many employees begin their healthcare careers at these facilities thanks to free CNA classes. 

The company appears to care deeply about health care and patients. It attempts to raise awareness during breast cancer awareness month through social media posts, and it encourages screenings. Social media pages for various facilities under this company show rewarding moments, employees beaming with great pride, and companies that provide services, such as food services. 

They offer a variety of services at their facilities. At their skilled nursing communities, they provide physical, occupational, and speech therapy, wound care, assistance with activities of daily living, medication management, and more. Comprehensive services are available to help every patient, regardless of where they are in their healthcare journey. 

All the nursing homes under National Healthcare Corporation receive a star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). They rate facilities based on their health inspections, staffing ratios, and quality measures. 

The rating ranges from one to five stars, with five being the best. There are many NHC skilled nursing facilities, so looking at each individually is key if you want to understand their healthcare centers’ conditions better. 

Many NHC facilities have high ratings, but several have low ratings, and some have consumer alerts for elderly abuse. Issues can arise at even the best facilities under NHC’s leadership, so it’s essential to do your research. 

If you or a loved one have been abused or neglected while living at a National Healthcare Corporation facility, the Nursing Home Law Center is here to hear your claim and provide you with your legal options. 

Complaints and Legal Actions Against National Healthcare Corporation

Every nursing home has had a complaint or two. The main thing is whether these claims can be verified. Still, the complaints can affect the nursing home and the residents living within the walls. National Healthcare Corporation facilities are no stranger to complaints. Some of the main ones that they’ve faced throughout the years at their facilities include: 

• Unsafe living environments 
• Inadequate fall prevention 
• Quality of care concerns
• Failing to treat patients with dignity and respect

Many of these complaints affect only one or a few living at their facilities. Still, complaints like unsanitary conditions and inadequate fall prevention affect all, if not a giant, portion of the patients living there. However, safety hazards are still a problem, even if they affect a limited number of people.

Lawsuits Against National Healthcare Corporation

In 2017 alone, NHC centers received 60 lawsuits. That doesn’t account for all the others they’ve received. They’ve received lawsuits about pressure ulcers, inadequate fall care, and fatal fires at national healthcare facilities. Some of the other lawsuits range from elderly abuse to improper Medicare billing.

Zane Cagle v. NHC Healthcare – Maryland Heights

Willis M. Cagle was admitted to the National Healthcare Corporation facility, Maryland Heights, in April of 2020 when he could no longer care for himself. Within two months of arriving at the facility, he contracted COVID-19 due to being quarantined at the facility. His family insisted that he be transported to the hospital when his symptoms got worse, and then he passed away in early June 2020.

Cagle’s family sued NHC for their negligent response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for not implementing adequate safety and quarantine protocols. 

Estate of Canavan v. National Healthcare Corporation

Dorothy Canavan filed a lawsuit against NHC on behalf of her husband, Patrick Canavan, in 2004 for abuse and wrongful death. During the case, it was found that the NHC healthcare facility was liable for negligence and did not allow Canavan his rights while staying at the nursing home. 

They claimed that the negligence and abuse of Canavan resulted in his untimely death. The case went to a jury trial, where they awarded $500,000 in damages and then another $250,000 in punitive damages. 

United States v. NHC Healthcare Corporation

The Western District of Missouri filed a lawsuit against the National Healthcare Corporation in August 2000 for fraudulently billing for the health care that NHC claimed they provided to two residents. 

The case stems from Medicare and Medicaid fraud allegedly committed by NHC at facilities in Missouri under the False Claims Act (FCA). The government claims that NHC submitted false claims or bills to the United States for two residents’ care. [1]

The care they received was deemed so insufficient and negligent that the bills submitted to the government amounted to fraud. This lawsuit comes after an investigation started against NHC in the late 1990s for inadequate care. It’s unclear what resulted from this lawsuit. 

Inspection and Deficiency Reports at National Healthcare Corporation

Many deficiencies have been cited throughout the various facilities operated under the National Healthcare Corporation. Even the facilities with higher CMS rating scores have had deficiencies reported. Here are more recent reports from a few of NHC’s facilities across different states. 

• NHC Healthcare Maryland Heights (Missouri) – Issue Summary 05/06/2024: 
  • Violation: Failing to provide a safe and clean environment for residents and failing to keep the environment free from hazards and provide adequate supervision to help prevent accidents. 
  • Example: Reports state that several residents’ bathrooms were consistently without toilet paper and hand towels, making them unable to have a safe and sanitary environment. They also failed to protect residents from falls by keeping shower floors cluttered, not monitoring residents in wheelchairs, and not storing chemicals properly. 
• NHC Healthcare Knoxville (Tennessee) – Issue Summary 03/15/2023: 
  • Violation: Failing to protect residents from all types of abuse, including mental, emotional, and physical abuse, and failing to report suspected abuse promptly. 
  • Example: The facility failed to protect residents from other residents, and there were incidents where particular residents were choked, shoved, and grabbed aggressively by fellow residents. This caused severe psychological harm to the victims. Nursing home staff failed to report the abuse allegations to the administrator within the two-hour time frame set forth by their reporting policy. 
• NHC Healthcare Garden City (South Carolina) – Issue Summary 04/13/2023: 
  • Violation: Failing to honor residents’ rights to a dignified existence, self-determination, communication, and exercise of their rights. Failing to provide a safe, clean, and comfortable environment. 
  • Example: The facility failed to ensure that a resident had personal privacy, increasing the risk of causing psychological harm to them. The facility could not maintain a comfortable bed and living environment for particular residents, including not adjusting the beds to the correct heights to ensure residents were comfortable. 

Free Case Evaluation

When it comes to dealing with negligence and abuse in nursing homes, hiring a nursing home attorney to help you seek justice is essential. An  experienced nursing home lawyer will help hold the nursing home and other liable parties accountable and seek compensation based on the damages. Working with an attorney from the Nursing Home Lawy Center means that we’ll help by: 

• Thoroughly investigating your claims
• Holding the facility and subsequent liable parties accountable for their actions or inactions
• Seeking compensation and justice for you or your loved one
• Advocating for improvements throughout the elderly care community to raise awareness
• Providing compassionate support throughout the process

No one wants to think about neglect and abuse happening in centers specializing in senior care, but they do happen. If you or a loved one have been neglected or abused in a National Healthcare Corporation facility or other community, make sure that you: 

• Get yourself or your loved one somewhere safe and away from the abuse 
• Document dates, times, and locations of the neglect or abuse 
• Report any incidents or concerns to the local authorities, nursing home administration, or state licensing board 
• Contact a qualified nursing home attorney 

When you work with us, you get a powerful ally who will help fight for justice and seek the maximum compensation based on the damages incurred. We want you to feel as little stress as possible during the case, so we operate on a contingency fee basis. You don’t owe us a dime unless we win. 

If you’re ready to seek justice against National Healthcare Corporation for what they’ve done to you or a loved one, contact the Nursing Home Law Center today by calling us at (800)-926-7565. 

References: [1] United States v. NHC Healthcare Corporation