Nursing Homes Abuse Blog - By Jonathan Rosenfeld

The family of a Pennsylvania assisted living patient has initiated a civil lawsuit against Sunrise Senior Living, a popular chain of assisted living facilities, after a hidden video demonstrated that three employees at the facility were abusing their 78-year-old mother.

The family installed the hidden camera after they suspected that their mother was being mistreated at the facility. According to news reports, the families concerns were discarded by officials at Sunrise due to the fact that their mother suffered from Alzheimer's making alleging her condition made her incapable of accurately articulating the abuse.

In addition to the civil lawsuit against Sunrise, prosecutors in Pennsylvania have brought criminal charges against the three employees depicted on the video of abusing the elderly woman. Read more about this alleged abuse at a Sunrise Senior Living facility here.

Related Nursing Homes Abuse Blog entries:

Elder Abuse: Captured On Video At California Facility

Sunrise Cited For Neglect After Assisted Living Facility Fails To Provide Timely Treatment For An Injured Resident

Investigation Determines Serious Safety Violations At Sunrise Assisted Living Facilities That Threaten Patient Safety

Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit Claims Sunrise Senior Living Failed To Supervise Resident During Field Trip

Officials at the Minnesota Department of Health have cited a Sunrise Senior Living facility in Rochester, MN for improper care after the facility failed to provide medical attention to a patient who was visibly injured in an altercation with another patient.  According to the department of health investigation, a resident sustained a bruise to his head after he was kicked by another resident. 

Despite visible bruising and swelling on his head, staff at the Sunrise facility failed to summon any medical attention for more than 24-hours after the condition was originally noticed.  The man died due to a traumatic brain injury approximately two weeks following the incident.

In citing Sunrise, authorities now require the facility to:

• Review their response system to patient injuries
• Consider the appropriate time frame for contacting a nurse following an injury
• Consider types of injuries that merit prompt medical attention
• Educate staff and family members about changes made at the facility
• Inform on-call staff regarding medical concerns / client needs when they begin their shift
• Review weekend staffing needs

Read more about this incident at a Sunrise Senior Living facility here.

So, would the preventative measures really have made any difference?

My guess is that the staff intervention would have little-- if any impact on the patient's outcome. However, I certainly do take issue with the way in which the staff responded to this situation.  At the very least, all feasible steps should be taken to minimize the pain experienced by residents following an injury.  This usually means getting medical attention.

Related Nursing Homes Abuse Blog entries:

Nursing Home Sued Following Death Of Resident In Fall

Nursing Home Negligence Lawsuit Claims Sunrise Senior Living Failed To Supervise Resident During Field Trip

Investigation Determines Serious Safety Violations At Sunrise Assisted Living Facilities That Threaten Patient Safety

Ask me about sports, wine, politics or the law and I feel fairly confident I can at least have a lively conversation about any of them.  But please don't ask me about finance.  The past year has eroded any hint of confidence I had when it comes to companies for investment.

Wait a second. Maybe, I am onto something.  In looking over the recent financials of the following national nursing home companies it looks as though some of the companies mentioned below are holding up fairly well in the current economic climate. As quarterly earnings are reported by many large nursing home chains--- caring for the elderly apparently pays well-- sometimes very well.

Five Star Quality Care

Five Star Quality Care, Inc. (Ticker: FVE) first quarter 2009 results reveal revenues increased 14% to 295.2 million from $258.9 million from a year earlier. New income for the company was $25.4 million for the quarter compared with $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2008.

Five Star Quality Care owns and operates 210 senior living communities in 30 states.  The companies facilities include: independent living centers and skilled nursing communities (nursing homes).  Five Star also operates five institutional pharmacies and two rehabilitation hospitals.

Kindred Health Care

Kindred Healthcare's (ticker: KND) profits rose 55% in the first quarter to $22.8 million or 58 cents per share.  Despite the fact that Kindred provided care to fewer patients, it was able to exceed Wall Street expectations by managing labor costs. 

According to chief financial officer, Richard Lechleiter, the recession may have actually helped the company's bottom line.  The shortage of jobs in other industries may have actually encouraged current employees to remain at Kindred longer.  Turnover among the company's hospital employees fell to 21% from a 25% turnover rate from a year earlier.

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. is a healthcare services company that operates: hospitals, nursing centers and a contract rehabilitation services business across the United States.  The hospital division operates 82 long-term acute care ("LTAC") hospitals (6,482 licensed beds) in 24 states. The health services division operates 228 nursing centers (28,525 licensed beds) in 27 states.  Kindred also operates a contract rehabilitation services business which provides rehabilitative services primarily in long-term care settings.

Sunrise Senior Living

Sunrise Senior Living (ticker: SRZ) will report quarterly earning on May 8th.  Will earnings be in line with the other long-term care providers?  Obviously, I have no idea-- if I did would likely retire from the law.  However, Sunrise did recently announce an 'Overhead Downsizing Plan' to save the company more than $20 million annually by cutting employees--further adding to the companies profitability. 

"The decision to reduce the number of people at Sunrise is never easy, but it was essential given  today's economic environment and our need to further reduce spending.  We want to be completely clear that none of these changes will effect the extraordinary care and services we provide in our communities," said Mark Ordan, Sunrise's Chief Executive Officer. 

No need to worry about the work levels for employees?

Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. provides senior living services in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. It offers independent living services, which include housing, meals, transportation, activities, and housekeeping, as well as licensed skilled nursing services for residents who require 24-hour skilled nursing care; and determination of the appropriate level of care and service for such resident. The company’s assisted living communities also offer a reminiscence neighborhood that provides specially designed accommodations, service, and care to support cognitively impaired residents, including residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of memory loss. 

Next time a large nursing home chain claims that a jury award is too large considering the nature of the injury, take a look at the company's financials and see who is really the one benefiting.