Widespread Nursing Home Understaffing Prompts Lawsuit
March 26 , 2007
A lawsuit claiming substandard care and staffing has been filed against the operator of 13 nursing homes in North County San Diego and Southwest Riverside County.
The suit, filed by attorney Stephen Garcia, alleges that Life Care Centers of America, Inc. has violated several state health and safety codes and engaged in fraudulent business practices.
Understaffing
Garcia claims that each center is understaffed and that it is a serious problem.
“What we want to do is restore the dignity of the residents of these facilities,” said Garcia. “In some cases, we believe the facilities are understaffed by as much as 70 percent.”
Life Care has annual revenues of nearly $1 billion. It has nearly 30,000 employees at 260 sites in 28 states.
The state has issued dozens of notices of deficiencies regarding treatment programs at several of Life Care’s facilities.
Other Claims
Life Care not only doesn’t provide what patients are promised,” said Garcia. “Individuals, their private insurance companies, and government sources such as MediCare and MediCal are billed as if the corporation has been providing the care promised. We believe this company is making huge profits at the detriment of the patients.”
The Goal
As of now, the suit only seeks an injunction ordering the company to increase its staffing and make improvements in other areas of their resident care programs.
Garcia has said that he is willing to discuss and resolve the issue without reimbursement if Life Care executives are willing to do so.
“What would insist on is an independent auditor,” said Garcia. “If they will go into a room within the next two weeks to settle this, I am willing to do it for free.”
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