Three residents at Saint Francis Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, a Pennsylvania nursing facility, “suffered from conditions that should have been identified and routinely treated by the St. Francis staff.” Instead, all three residents were neglected and died. Chaim Charles Steg, the Regional Director of St. Francis, made decisions that deprived the residents of necessary care. In 2021, he pleaded nolo contendere (no contest) to three counts of reckless endangerment for failing to invest in sufficient and adequate nurse staffing at the nursing facility. The HHS Office of Inspector General excluded Steg from Medicare for 15 years. Administrative Law Judge Steven T. Kessel rejects Steg’s defenses on appeal and sustains the mandatory exclusion. Chaim Charles Steg v. The Inspector General, Decision No. CR6295.
November 30, 2023 – T. Edelman