nursing, home, residents, resident, care, trans, gtcr, profits, health, profit
Corporate America pushes for big business with a heavy emphasis on high profits, and it is affecting nearly every aspect of our economy, from grocery stores to gyms. What many people do not know is that big business now owns most of the country’s nursing homes, running the facilities like any other for-profit, investor-owned corporation. Nursing home attorneys at Pintas & Mullins detail these for-profit companies and how they have impacted the care residents receive.
Nursing home chains are expanding throughout the country, operating facilities across multiple states and reaping in profits. As this trend proliferates, these chains are also facing massive liability for their poor standards of care. Nursing home abuse and neglect lawsuits are filed on behalf of residents after they are seriously injured, or in many cases, killed by inadequate care.
Because corporate owners purposefully skimp on resources to boost profits, residents receive less time with nurses, who are so overworked and understaffed that they are physically unable to adequately care for each patient. This leads to wrong medications, frequent falls, dehydration or malnutrition, bedsores, or even elopement, when residents leave the facility without supervision.
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Some of the most recent lawsuits receiving national media attention include a case in Maine where a resident was discovered to have maggot infestations in his chest wound. Another, in Syracuse, New York, involved a claim of sexual molestation. One nursing home chain in particular, Extendicare, is facing a $40 million settlement for illegal billing practices and substandard care.
Chains keep profits high and costs low largely by reducing staffing, primarily registered nurses, who can be costly to retain. Staff wages are also cut, putting immense stress on those working and causing resentment, fatigue, and stress.
One study found that the four largest for-profit chains, which were purchased by private equity firms between 2003-2008, were cited for more deficiencies after they were purchased. Nursing homes are inspected at least once per year by state officials. Deficiencies include poor sanitary conditions, resident mistreatment, infections, failure to prevent bedsores, severe resident weight loss, and other indicators that residents are facing harm.
This was one of the first studies to definitively link private equity acquisition to a decrease in resident care. The authors of this study point to the need for an increase in oversight and greater accountability, along with funding incentives and support for better staffing levels.
If you live anywhere in Illinois, you have seen the recent attacks on governor candidate Bruce Rauner for the role his own private equity firm, GTCR, played in an exorbitantly negligent nursing home chain. The chain, Trans Health Management and Trans Healthcare, is facing
billions in liability after several resident deaths and consequent lawsuits.
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Both Trans Health and GTCR are accused to schemes to avoid liability in these deaths. Rauner ran GTCR for over 20 years, leaving only recently to pursue a campaign for Illinois governor. Over those years GTCR invested more than $10 billion in over 200 companies, including Trans Health, which provides care to over 30,000 patients. In 2006 alone, Trans faced about 150 lawsuits in 15 states, most alleging severe resident neglect and abuse.
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Our team of nursing home lawyers has decades of experience working with residents and their families. If you or someone you love is being victimized by neglect or abuse at a nursing home, contact our firm immediately. We provide free legal consultations to concerned parties nationwide, and will come to you wherever you live, to meet and discuss your case.
Call or text (800) 842-6336 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
