2 Worcester Nursing Homes See Repeat Drug Overdoses

WORCESTER, MA — Looking at the website for the Parsons Hill Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Worcester, you might think the facility is just a nursing home. There's an image of a smiling elderly woman, and a paragraph boasting that the facility offers the "highest quality of senior living care" in the area.

What you won't see is information about opioid overdoses at the facility. Parsons, located along Route 9 near the Leicester line, is one of two nursing homes in Worcester that are among the top locations for repeat overdoses in the city, according to police data.

The overdoses are due to facilities like Parsons taking in younger clients who need long-term antibiotic care — but who also may be using drugs. The average age of overdose victims in Worcester is 38, according to police data.

Over the 12 months, Parsons has had 10 opiate-related overdoses. The Worcester Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, located in the Union Hill area, has had 12 overdoses. Both facilities are owned by the Connecticut-based company Athena Health Care Systems.

Health and Human Services Commissioner Dr. Matilde Castiel told the Board of Health on Monday that younger patients are receiving intravenous antibiotic treatments that last 4 to 6 hours. But in between those treatments, some patients go outside, use drugs, and end up overdosing, Castiel said. The younger patients are not seeking drug treatment at the nursing homes.

It's unclear what Athena Health Care is doing about the overdoses. A company spokesman did not immediately return requests for comment. Castiel met with the representatives recently, and said that the nursing homes are looking at retraining staff.

"Our goal through the city is that everyone suffering with substance use gets treatment. We are working with Athena and the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (BSAS) to ensure the best possible care is made available," Castiel said in a statement on Wednesday. "Athena is very invested in providing this care, and we hope to support their efforts as they move forward with this new endeavor of treating people with substance use who may also need a long-term antibiotic at the same time."

Worcester is on track to see a reduction in the total number of overdoses in 2019. The number hit an eight-year high of 1,350 in 2018, but so far in 2019 there have been only 962 overdoses. There have been 60 overdose deaths in Worcester so far in 2019. Ninety-seven died in 2018 of overdoses, second only to Boston in the state.

According to Worcester police data, the locations with the highest number of repeat drug overdoses over the last year are:

• 25 Queen St., the Worcester Public Inebriate Program shelter — 35 overdoses
• 50 Oriol Drive, Quality Inn and Suits — 12 overdoses
• 119 Providence St., the Worcester Rehabilitation and Health Care Center nursing home — 12 overdoses
• 1350 Main St., the Parsons Hill Rehabilitation and Health Care Center nursing home — 10
• 50 Vernon St. — 8 overdoses
• 2 Washington Square, Union Station — 8 overdoses
• 9 Adelle Circuit — 7 overdoses
• 14 Oread St., a building that has been investigated for drug sales — 6

During Monday's meeting, Board of Health members David Fort said that his 89-year-old father, a retired pastor, is living in a nursing home alongside drug users. While eating with his father at a nursing home recently, Fort said he heard another man say he "can't wait" to use heroin — but Fort sees an upside to the living arrangement.

Being there gives his father "an opportunity to counsel" the drug users, Fort said.