Nursing Homes Raise Profits, Cut Care

Private equity firms buying up, stripping down facilities
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 23, 2007 5:04 PM CDT
Nursing Homes Raise Profits, Cut Care
US NEWS NURSINGHOMES-6 2 SL   (KRT Photos)

Caring for grandma has become big business for private firms that are buying nursing homes and making them profit generators. But to do it, they’ve severely cut staff—sometimes below legal levels, the New York Times found. “Chains have made a lot of money by cutting nurses,” said one analyst, “but it’s at the cost of human lives.”

Equity-owned facilities typically underperformed on 12 of 14 standards regulators use to judge homes. “They’ve created a hellhole,” said one woman, who filed a lawsuit after her mother died from a feces-infected bedsore. But such lawsuits are almost impossible to levy, thanks to labyrinthine liability structures firms create—which also helps underperforming homes avoid regulators' fines. (More nursing homes stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X