Henrico, Virginia — A northern Virginia nursing home is facing more than $114,000 in federal fines after health inspectors documented a pattern of the most serious safety failures — findings that state officials say highlight why the commonwealth needs to rethink how it polices long-term care facilities.
Parham Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, located in Henrico County, was cited in December by Virginia Department of Health inspectors for a “systemic failure” to prevent resident abuse. According to inspection records, inspectors identified 11 victims, most of whom had been physically assaulted by other residents. In several cases, the facility failed to investigate and report the abuse and provided inadequate supervision of a known aggressor.
A Federal Response
Following the December inspection, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent the facility a letter imposing a civil monetary penalty of $114,300 — triggered by violations cited at the “immediate jeopardy” level, the highest severity classification regulators use. The designation is reserved for situations where a facility’s failures put residents at risk of serious harm or death.
CMS also imposed an accruing daily fine of $520 for each day the facility remained out of compliance beginning December 17, and warned it would deny Medicare and Medicaid payments for new admissions if noncompliance continued past March 17.
Additional inspections after December found Parham continued to rack up immediate jeopardy citations — including a March finding that the facility allowed unsupervised smoking in a non-designated area, which inspectors said “created a high probability of fire ignition.” In total, four immediate jeopardy violations for the same deficiency have been cited at the facility since April 2025.
The situation fits into a broader pattern of enforcement challenges that regulators have been wrestling with nationally. CMS recently overhauled its nursing home survey and penalty rules, introducing stiffer fines and a sharper standard for what qualifies as immediate jeopardy — changes explicitly designed to force facilities to take compliance seriously.
The Facility’s Response
A spokesperson for Parham said an inspection team visited the facility earlier this week and cleared it of all previously cited violations.
“This outcome is testimony to the staff’s hard work and dedication to providing quality care to our residents,” said spokesperson Mindie Barnett. “Although the center has faced citations in the past, our focus remains on providing the best care for residents every day.”
Barnett said the building has also received physical improvements, including new paint, flooring, and furniture.
State Officials Weigh In
Virginia Department of Health spokesperson Marian Hunter confirmed that Parham is currently on a directed plan of correction and subject to weekly state monitoring.
She said the facility’s history is part of why Virginia is reconsidering its entire regulatory approach to nursing homes.
“These cases highlight the importance of ensuring that the regulatory framework is strong, responsive, and effective in protecting residents,” Hunter said. “VDH and senior leadership engaged the General Assembly to put together a comprehensive strategy to ensure that nursing homes are providing the care our senior population deserves.”
One family member of a former resident was more direct. “Nobody should be there, honestly,” Dominica Williams said of the facility in a previous interview. “To leave him there every day, it was like torture.”
The case is unfolding as Virginia has taken broader steps to tighten nursing home oversight — including a law passed earlier this year requiring stricter vetting of ownership changes in the industry.
