2 Cherry Hill Nursing Homes Among NJ's Worst: State Comptroller

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Cherry Hill has two of New Jersey's worst nursing homes, according to the Office of the State Comptroller. And they received a combined $105.8 million in state-taxpayer dollars within five years.

The state comptroller's office released a report Friday showing 12 New Jersey nursing homes that consistently receive the lowest-possible quality rating. The listed facilities continue to receive tens of millions of dollars from New Jersey's Medicaid program, according to the agency.

The report lists two facilities in the township: Silver Healthcare Center and Premier Cadbury of Cherry Hill. Silver Healthcare Center received $85.1 million in state-Medicaid payments from Fiscal Years 2017-22, while the New Jersey program gave Premier Cadbury $20.7 million during that period.

The comptroller's latest findings represent a follow-up to the agency's February 2022 report, which showed 15 nursing homes receiving state-Medicaid funds despite consistently poor ratings. The agency called on the state to implement a system that determines Medicaid funding by rewarding facilities that obtain higher ratings. But the New Jersey Department of Health, which oversees nursing homes, and the New Jersey Department of Human Services, which oversees Medicaid providers, have largely disregarded those recommendations, the comptroller's office says.

"The nursing homes’ poor performance has real and potentially fatal consequences for residents," the report says. "State inspectors have found widespread and harmful conditions at the lowest-rated facilities. In some, residents face conditions that include abusive staff members, clogged toilets, broken doors and furniture, poorly maintained and dirty facilities and patient rooms, understaffed shifts, and untrained staff administering medications. And for some of these facilities, these sorts of issues have existed in various forms for nearly a decade."

The February 2022 report also listed Silver Healthcare Center as one of the state's worst-performing nursing homes.

Premier Cadbury received a 2 out of 5 in the first two quarters of 2021 but then received zero stars for the following six quarters, through 2022. The home earned 1 out of 5 stars in the first quarter of this year. The facility has been rated two stars or worse since 2013, the furthest back the comptroller's report goes.

Silver Healthcare Center, meanwhile, generated one star in all quarters since the beginning of 2021, except for the third quarter of last year, when it received two stars. The home only achieved three stars once since 2013.

The scores come from a federal grading system based on inspections by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

View the state comptroller's full report.