Mother’s day campaign for better care at ManorCare Nursing Homes
On Sunday, when families throughout the United States went to visit their mother’s in ManorCare nursing homes for Mother’s Day, they were greeted with a carnation and information calling them to take action to help improve the quality of nursing home care. ManorCare, which was recently purchased by a private equity fund, has failed to fulfill promises made last year to provide quality care and has seen sharp increases in the number of care deficiencies at many of their homes.
>>INFORMATION: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
The information was handed out at more than ninety Manor Care nursing homes in twelve states. The effort was led by SEIU Healthcare, the nations largest nursing home workers union. They asked family members of residents to contact the owners of Manor Care and demand that better care be provided. The families were also urged to contact their Senators to support a pending bill which will help protect all nursing home residents.
Last year, ManorCare nursing homes were purchased by Carlyle Group, one of the nations largest private equity funds. This gave rise to serious concerns, since nursing homes owned by private investment groups usually perform worse than other facilities. They are known for reducing the quality of nursing home care by cutting costs and reducing the number of employees. An article published in the New York Times last September outlined how privately acquired nursing homes ranked below the national standard in 12 of 14 qualifying areas, even though many of these facilities were above the national average before being acquired by the investors.
Amidst the controversy surrounding the Carlyle purchase of ManorCare nursing homes for $6.3 billion, promises were made to improve the quality of care, increase training for caregivers and to provide sufficient staffing to ensure the safety of residents. However, since the buyout, some of the Manor Care nursing homes have seen worsening care, and the company has been opposing efforts by caregivers for better benefits and a fully funded training program.
The Mother’s Day nursing home campaign was also designed to help raise awareness and support for U.S. Senate bill 2641, the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act. The bill would prevent private equity firms like Carlyle from attempting to escape liability for nursing home negligence by setting up multi-layered entities that make it difficult to determine who is really responsible for the care. It would also prohibit owners from separating the valuable real estate holdings from the nursing home operations, which many companies do to shield their property when their negligent nursing home management leads to injuries for residents.
NURSING HOME LAWYERS
The nursing home neglect lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. represent residents who are injured as a result of negligent care throughout the United States. When corners are cut, caregivers are under trained and insufficient staffing levels are maintained, residents face an increased risk of suffering bed sores, dehydration, falls and other serious injuries. If poor nursing home care has resulted in an injury for a friend or family member, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.
