Sunday, July 5, 2015

Attorney general accuses Golden Living homes of failing to provide basic services to elderly


Attorney General Kathleen Kane filed an injunction against a chain of 36 nursing homes Wednesday, accusing it of misleading consumers by failing to provide basic services to elderly and vulnerable residents.

The Attorney General's Office claims Golden Gate Senior Care Center LLC, which manages and operates 36 Golden Living facilities throughout Pennsylvania — including ones in Monroeville and Mt. Lebanon — has engaged in deceptive and unlawful business practices while making a substantial profit. 

“These facilities promised to provide the care needed by residents and then failed to meet residents' most basic human needs. That is simply unacceptable,” Kane said in a news release. 

No one from Golden Living could be reached. 

Golden Living facilities made about $54 million in profit off $563 million in net revenue between 2008-2013, according to the 95-page complaint filed in Commonwealth Court. The majority of its income came from residents and the Pennsylvania Medical Assistance Program, the complaint said. 

Referencing more than a dozen confidential witnesses, the Attorney General's Office said the facilities misled consumers into believing their loved ones were receiving excellent care when in reality the homes were understaffed and put patients at risk. 

The injunction seeks $1,000 per violation of the law, or up to $3,000 for every violation involving a person 60 or older, and restitution for consumers, injunctive relief and costs of litigation. 

The Attorney General's Office asks that anyone with complaints concerning Golden Living facilities or other health care facilities contact its Health Care Section by calling 877-888-4877 or visiting www.attorneygeneral.gov.

Full Article & Source:
Attorney general accuses Golden Living homes of failing to provide basic services to elderly

5 comments:

Tracey said...

Very good, Attorney General Kane. I believe more facilities will be investigated soon across the country. When I filed with Human Rights in 2007 I was told that "they (the facility) are not used to people like me, they are used to families dropping their loved ones off, going on with their lives, and allowing the facilities to do whatever they want to them". We, as concerned citizens, need to report these abuses and need to help the public become aware of the dangers that befall so many people. I appreciate our Attorney General's office for their investigations.

Anonymous said...

We the people are always happy to see our AG's doing something like this which helps the citizens.

Selena said...

Every state should be investigating nursing homes to get the bad ones in shape. It should be a duty of a special task force!

Unknown said...

I am a c.n.a. my biggest complaint is that the dept of health states that my employer is allowed to give me 16 patients at once. That leaves me and one other aide for 32 people. I get a hour and a half to do care. Broken down that's 5minutes and 36 seconds per patient. Is thAt even realistic? Can any of you care for 16 loved ones at once? And i mean everything from toileting, bathing, dressing, & feeding. The department of health needs to re-evaluate the staff/patient ratio. I shouldn't be forced to rush a poor patient whose not able to move very fast. Further more listen to another "trick" the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ALLOWS NURSING HOMES TO DO WHEN IT COMES TO STAFF. THE OFFICE STAFF( WHO NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER AND I MEAN NEVER EVER WORK THE FLOOR ) IS INCLUDED IN THE NUMBER OF STAFF IN THE BUILDING. SO AN Example would be this. Friday June 22, 2015 there are seven RN's in the building, five LPN's and six aides. Each floor has two aides and one lpn. The rest is office staff who work IN THE OFFICE AND NOT ON THE FLOOR NOT EVER UNLESS OF COURSE THE DEPT OF HEALTH IS IN THE BUILDING. then yr tripping over these people. Why the beck are they allowed to count ppl who are not touching the residents? ??? Its a complete SCAM! Y isn't the dept of health closing the doors to the NURSING HOMES WHO REFUSE TO STAFF US. EVERYONE NEEDS TO STart demAnding the ratio for staff be re-evaluated. Then and only then can our loved ones be truly safe. I deal with the staffing issue 9/hrs a day while unfortunately the residents have to deal with it 24/7. Lets all come together and make a change for the better. Our elders need you to be their voice! Stand united!!!

Unknown said...

I am a c.n.a. my biggest complaint is that the dept of health states that my employer is allowed to give me 16 patients at once. That leaves me and one other aide for 32 people. I get a hour and a half to do care. Broken down that's 5minutes and 36 seconds per patient. Is thAt even realistic? Can any of you care for 16 loved ones at once? And i mean everything from toileting, bathing, dressing, & feeding. The department of health needs to re-evaluate the staff/patient ratio. I shouldn't be forced to rush a poor patient whose not able to move very fast. Further more listen to another "trick" the DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ALLOWS NURSING HOMES TO DO WHEN IT COMES TO STAFF. THE OFFICE STAFF( WHO NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER AND I MEAN NEVER EVER WORK THE FLOOR ) IS INCLUDED IN THE NUMBER OF STAFF IN THE BUILDING. SO AN Example would be this. Friday June 22, 2015 there are seven RN's in the building, five LPN's and six aides. Each floor has two aides and one lpn. The rest is office staff who work IN THE OFFICE AND NOT ON THE FLOOR NOT EVER UNLESS OF COURSE THE DEPT OF HEALTH IS IN THE BUILDING. then yr tripping over these people. Why the beck are they allowed to count ppl who are not touching the residents? ??? Its a complete SCAM! Y isn't the dept of health closing the doors to the NURSING HOMES WHO REFUSE TO STAFF US. EVERYONE NEEDS TO STart demAnding the ratio for staff be re-evaluated. Then and only then can our loved ones be truly safe. I deal with the staffing issue 9/hrs a day while unfortunately the residents have to deal with it 24/7. Lets all come together and make a change for the better. Our elders need you to be their voice! Stand united!!!