Outside chains like RegalCare transformed Mass. nursing homes. Quality fell.

The red-brick nursing home tucked off a busy road in Taunton used to be a rare jewel in a beleaguered industry, polished to a high sheen.

Floors gleamed from daily scrubbing. Residents’ clothes came back fresh and neatly folded. Employees stayed for decades. In early 2020, the 100-bed home earned the federal government’s highest quality rating — five stars — and held it for more than two years.

Then Eli Mirlis swept in from New Jersey and everything changed.