Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 3 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
General News   

Beverly Enterprises - Poster Child Of Fraud And Neglect In Nursing Home Industry

By       (Page 6 of 7 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   No comments
Message Evelyn Pringle
The plaintiff in this case also contracted a severe infestation of scabies that was neglected and not treated or diagnosed for over a month while she endured severe physical pain.

Her condition was worse than it otherwise would have been because her paralysis prevented her from scratching when she itched, and she was permanently scarred from the scabies infestation.

During the last 6 months of her residency at Beverly, the plaintiff lost more than 60 pounds because the facility was understaffed and did not feed her and also because the facility ran out of food and medical supplies on one occasion.

As hard as it is to believe, this kind of neglect and abuse is actually happening to our elderly citizens in 2006.

On March 15, 2006, Northwest Arkansas News reported that Beverly closed on a deal to sell itself to a subsidiary of Fillmore Capital Partners LLC on March 14, 2006.

Beverly operates 342 nursing homes across the country, including 16 in Arkansas, according to NAN.

Fillmore President Ron Silva apparently has given a lot of thought to solving Beverly's financial woes. To start off on the right foot, NWN reports that he said, "Arkansas needs a specific tort reform for nursing homes to limit the number of lawsuits filed."

According to court documents filed in December 22, 2005, as part of the sale Mr, Floyd, Mr. Devereaux, and other executives and board members will personally receive payments totaling $109 million. Mr, Floyd's severance package will be $40 million.

But on May 16, 2006, in a 10-year-old case, McKnight's Long-Term Care News, reported a decision representing a win for organized labor, when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Beverly violated federal labor law when it retaliated against employees following a 3-day strike in the mid-1990s at some of its Pennsylvania facilities.

The board ordered Beverly to post notice of its violations at all of its nursing homes and to reinstate 8 employees with back pay and benefits, and ordered the company to recognize the Service Employees International Union at two of its Pennsylvania facilities.
Citing previous rulings against the company, the NLRB said Beverly's actions indicate it "continues to have a proclivity to violate the act and that its widespread misconduct demonstrates a general disregard for its employees' Section 7 rights."

In a previous decision in 2001, the NLRB found the company committed numerous unfair labor practices during contract talks with SEIU locals that resulted in a three-day strike at 15 of the 20 homes operated by two subsidiaries in Pennsylvania.

Whatever happened to the corporate integrity agreement? This next case involving a resident's death took place on March 2, 2002.

On May 4, 2006, the Lexington Herald Ledger reported that a jury awarded $20 million to the estate of Loren Richards, 84, who died on March 2, 2002, at Beverly Health and Rehabilitation of Frankfort.

Mr. Richards' daughter sued the home, claiming that nurses had ignored her father's repeated calls for help with abdominal pain. With an impacted bowel," the Ledger said, "he later died of a heart attack."

The attorney for the estate told the jury the 100-bed facility was severely understaffed due to a companywide effort to cut expenses and raise the stock price.

"They are building profitability on the backs of people like Loren Richards," he said.

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Evelyn Pringle Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for OpEd News and investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government and corporate America.
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Glaxo Promotes Mental Disorders - Then Paxil

Government Investigation Finds Autism Vaccine Related

Paxil Five-Year Litigation History

Suicide Risk of Neurontin Kept Hidden for Years

Gambro Healthcare - Dialysis Fraud Pays Big Bucks

Johnson & Johnson Chirate Spinal Disc Under Fire

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend