Cathedral Village fined $52K for violations linked to Herbert R. McMaster Sr.’s death in April

The Pennsylvania Department of Health fined Cathedral Village $52,250 for violations linked to Herbert R. McMaster Sr.'s death in April. It was the third-highest state fine against a Pennsylvania nursing home since at least early 2014, according to a list of sanctions posted on the department's website this month.

A June report by the health department found that the 84-year-old's fatal fall at Cathedral Village on April 12 was his fifth fall during a four-day stay at the nursing home in the Upper Roxborough section of Philadelphia. He died on April 13. McMaster was father of former national security adviser H.R. McMaster Jr.

The 141-page report said staff at Cathedral Village did not properly investigate the four earlier falls, did not complete all the required neurological checks, and failed to develop plans to prevent additional falls.

Cathedral Village, a nonprofit owned by Presbyterian Senior Living since 2015, said Monday it had no comment.

Under two different owners, a Camp Hill, Pa., nursing home, now known as Gardens at West Shore, was fined $60,800 in 2016 and $82,500 last year.

The state health department used to publish the fines before the completion of any appeals. For example, last December it fined St. Francis Center for Rehabilitation & Healthcare in Darby $675,750 in connection with an August 2017 inspection that led to a rare license revocation.

Now, regulators only publish the amount of fines after they go through any departmental appeals and are final. The reduction can be substantial. Through appeal, a Pittsburgh facility reduced a $235,000 fine to $15,250. The large St. Francis fine is no longer shown on the state's sanctions list.