Extendicare Nursing Home Lawsuit Filed in Minnesota
Published: October 31st, 2008
Another class action lawsuit has been filed against Extendicare nursing homes, this time involving 10 facilities in Minnesota. The complaint indicates that Extendicare engaged in deceptive advertising by falsely claiming that the residents would be provided with the care that they needed.
The nursing home class action lawsuit was filed against Extendicare Health Services, Inc. and Extendicare Homes, Inc. on behalf of Laura Bernstein and all residents who lived at the 10 Minnesota Extendicare nursing homes between October 29, 2002, and October 29, 2008.
The suit alleges that Extendicare violated the Minnesota Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act by using false advertising to deceive elderly and sick individuals into believing that they would be provided with good quality nursing care. The complaint also claims that Extendicare’s brochures, websites and other promotional materials misrepresent the company’s facilities with the intention of cheating prospective residents.
A similar Extendicare nursing home lawsuit was filed on August 22, 2008 in Washington State on behalf of all individuals who resided at Extendicare facilities in the state between July 1, 2004 and July 1, 2008. That complaint also indicated that false and misleading advertising statements were made and that the inferior care provided at the facilities violated the rights of residents.
In response to each of the nursing home lawsuits, Extendicare has issued press releases stating that they plan to defend the cases in court, calling the allegations in the complaint “incorrect and misleading.”
Extendicare has been accused of engaging in a “Green Flag Policy” that qualifies patients with serious medical conditions for immediate admission without proper assessment of the facilities ability to meet the patient’s needs or the needs of those already residing at the nursing home. The Minnesota complaint claims that the “Green Flag Policy” and “24/7 Extendicare Admission Policy” show that Extendicare is more concerned with profits than people.
In addition to Minnesota and Washington, Extendicare nursing homes throughout the United States have been cited for serious violations of federal regulations, which could increase the risk of serious and potentially life threatening nursing home injury for residents.
According to a July 2008 report in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 20 out of the 26 Extendicare nursing homes in Wisconsin have been cited for at least one serious violation in care over the past three years and the nursing home operator has paid over $2.3 million to settle violations that led to the 2003 death of a resident.
Related Posts
- Extendicare Nursing Home Lawsuit Over False Advertising Dismissed (9/4/2009)
- Another Extendicare Class Action Lawsuit Filed over Nursing Home Neglect in Wisconsin (11/17/2008)
- Nursing Home Lawsuit Against Extendicare Moved to Federal Court with Additional Allegations (10/7/2008)
- Extendicare Lawsuit for False Advertising to be Defended (9/3/2008)
- Extendicare Nursing Home Class Action Lawsuit Filed in Washington (8/25/2008)
Pingback by Another Extendicare Class Action Lawsuit Filed over Nursing Home Neglect in Wisconsin : AboutLawsuits.com on 17 November 2008:
[...] suit, this time filed on behalf of all residents of their nursing homes in Wisconsin. Similar Extendicare class action lawsuits have been filed in Washington and Minnesota, with all of the cases alleging that the company places [...]
Comment by Ladytopaz on 8 January 2010:
Unfortunately I work in an Extendicare facility but not in this state. What appals me is diabetic patients who ‘are not’ put on a diabetic diet!! Pancakes served with maple syrup and not sugar free? Lord, no wonder they are sick!! And yes, I stay because I care about the residents, the company on the other hand is another matter!!
Comment by Myra on 2 March 2010:
Just looking into Extendacare facilities since next month the facility in which my sister liveses is going to be under this company. I will be visiting more and be watching more since I find that this company seems to be in the business JUST for the MONEY. I am a CNA and MA and I know for what to watch. I letter was received by me stating that thngs would be about the same and not to worry. I have never worked in a facility that was taken over by another company and things did not change and usually not for the best. I will be watching.
Comment by Jason on 3 July 2010:
This is all about greed ! If you dont like the way your parent ,child, husband is being cared for thene take theme out or home research things before you commit . I have always noticed the people who complain the most are the ones that do not visit much or feel guilty. Like I said take theme home or soumwhere else . It just boils down to the fact u feeel guilty or your greeedy
Comment by Sally on 18 August 2010:
Jason you are very mistaken. I worked for extendicare and they are a bad company to work for. They horribly understaff to save money, without taking into consideration what resident is out and what residents remain. Often the residents remaining in the home are the ones who require the most care and the ones that are out are the ones who pretty much take care of themselves and yet you are a whole person short on a shift. The CNA’s are over worked and many become bitter and talk about how much they hate their jobs in front of the residents and their families. Many just become rough and short with the residents. I witnessed CNA’s yelling at the residents, not using proper transfer aids causing skin tears and bruises, yanking on the residents causing dislocation of joints and worse. Nursing homes need to staff better and raise the moral of the staff so they do not become burnt out on the job. I know women who go everyday and stay all day with their husband and they complain the most. They would love to have them home, they just cannot take care of them themselves.
Comment by Kathy on 8 March 2011:
I also am an Extendicare employee so I have first hand knowledge of things. Unfortunately, big companies do worry more about their profit than their employees. The CNAs are not paid properly for the amount of physical labor that is expected of them. I’m sure it frustrates them into doing things the wrong way. Maybe if everyone quit bad mouthing the care and start standing up for the people who are the backbones (literally) of these facilities then something good can occur. It takes a special kind of person to care enough about their fellow human beings to put up with bad human behaviour and cleaning their excrement all of the time. Yes, they are understaffed but that is everywhere in every type of facility. What do lawsuits gain? The person suing gets richer, the residents loose what some believe to be their happy homes, and people lose their jobs. Instead of healthcare reform we should be fighting for healthcare changes to improve an already burdened profession. Try sympathizing with the workers and not scrutinize them so much.
Comment by didi on 15 May 2011:
i recently went to visit a person i cared for at the new care facility at michener hill in alberta canada, and found my old charge to be in a room of his own looking disoriented and very sad to be there his story touched me that an ekderly person is not able to be cared for in a pychosocial aspect because the staff is short , he told me that he was hungry and i tried to find staff there one eas one care aid there and she told me that there was no way of getting a sandwich for this person and i could go to the shops and buy one , the cafeteria was closed at 1pm in the afternoon why he didnt have lunch was because he was forgotten why does this happen , profits are being made out of this, and relatives of the loved ines in these places should be aware of everyhing that goes on within any care facilty.
Comment by Anita on 17 November 2011:
I ‘m angry today and have been most days and I tell you why. I come from old school nursing that you are your pt advocate. But it is not true when you work at an extendicare facility or many others. I consider myself a well trained LPN but what good is training if you don’t have the time to utilize it. Extendicare admit residents all kinds without the properly trained staff and /or sufficient staff to care for them .Nurses and aides are constantly overwhelmed by the demands residents need.Most needs go undone which for me was unethical,immoral and un acceptable. The company is putting profits above human lives,compassion and empathy. Every thing I stand for and many nurses stand for. I want to do something about it but don’t know where to start. To get back to patient care above profits.
Comment by Maria on 20 November 2011:
Part of the problem in nursing is the foreign nurses who insist on speaking their non-English language. More than once I have seen this result in a breakdown in communication with other coworkers and/or the patients. The nurses from the Phillipines seem to be the biggest offenders.