ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Private-Equity Firms, Conglomerates, and Nursing Homes
When Quality Care Loses Out to the Bottom Line
Conglomerates and private-equity firms own huge numbers of nursing homes in the United States and the impact on the residents in those homes is not good. The focus is on profits not care. Top management consists of real estate experts, bankers, and investment people: people who do not know a thing about providing care to the elderly. The disconnect has devastating consequences for care quality and an all too real impact on human lives. Take, for example, the alleged track record of HCR ManorCare, the second largest US nursing home chain previously owned by the private-equity Carlyle Group. For the years ManorCare was under private-equity ownership published reports and public records indicate its health code violations rose 26% a year. Citations included allegations of, among other things, neither preventing or treating bed sores/pressure ulcers; medication errors; failure to provide proper care for patients needing injections, colostomies and prostheses; and not assisting patients with eating and personal hygiene.
The San Francisco nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent nursing home residents harmed by such abuse or neglect. Our lawyers believe nursing home owners, management, administrators and staff should be held accountable for any neglect or abuse that results in injury. Neglect and abuse often arise from understaffing and other cost-cutting practices. Owners may drain cash from the homes, constraining resources to provide operating capital for needed services. Our lawyers know how to investigate these cases and sue the responsible parties for all remedies available to victims and their families. If you or someone you know is suffering from nursing home abuse in San Francisco or elsewhere in California, call the nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm today at 415-441-8669, and we can help.
Nursing home abuse can be fatal. Nursing home residents are in homes for a reason – they can no longer take care of themselves. The patients and their families trust skilled nursing facilities to take care of these patients, and they pay dearly for that care. Experience shows that distant owners, fixated on the bottom line, cannot be trusted to provide the required level of care. If you have a loved one in a nursing home, visit as often as you can and monitor the care your loved one receives. Watch for signs of possible abuse or neglect:
- Bedsores/pressure ulcers or other poor skin conditions;
- Bruises and scratch marks;
- Falls;
- Injuries from wandering off unsupervised (known as elopement);
- Indication of sexual assault or battery;
- Lack of equipment and supplies;
- Overmedication;
- Rapid weight loss;
- Dehydration;
- Abnormal or withdrawn behavior and unusual silence;
- Prolonged sleep or drowsiness;
- Agitation especially when certain caregivers are present;
- Reluctance to speak when staff is nearby;
- Unsanitary and unclean conditions, soiled bed linens and clothes;
- Fear of being touched.
You know your loved one best and other observations may concern you. If you suspect abuse or neglect, do something about it immediately. Notify the nursing home administrator who is required by law to report the situation to the authorities. And call qualified counsel like the nursing home abuse attorneys at Evans Law Firm to help you.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one is or has been the victim of nursing home abuse in San Francisco or elsewhere in California, contact Ingrid M. Evans and the other nursing home abuse attorneys at the Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
