Pennsylvania Attorney General Targets Golden Living Chain
Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane announced that her office would be expanding its investigation into claims that the Golden Living chain of nursing homes mislead consumers by failing to provide basic services to elderly and vulnerable residents of its facilities. The announcement came after the filing of an amended legal action against the company which owns and operates Golden Living, Golden Gate National Senior Care LLC. There are 36 Golden Living facilities within Pennsylvania; 25 of these centers are named in the AG’s legal action.
New Allegations of Understaffing and Inadequate Care
The Attorney General’s office originally filed a claim against Golden Living back in July. But subsequent revelations of alleged misconduct have compelled the AG’s office to expand its action, adding an additional 11 Golden Living facilities. These latest allegations came from more than 350 complaints made to the Office of Attorney General after the office announced its case over the summer.
Golden Living May Have Violated Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Act
The Attorney General’s office also stated in the legal action that Golden Living violated the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law by misleading consumers through its marketing practices. The company advertised it would keep its residents clean and comfortable while providing food and water at any time. But its facilities were understaffed, leaving residents thirsty, hungry, dirty, unkempt and sometimes unable to summon anyone to help meet their most basic needs, such as going to the bathroom.
Some of the new allegations against Golden Living launched by the Attorney General:
- Continent residents left in diapers because they were unable to obtain assistance going to the bathroom.
- Incontinent residents left in soiled diapers, in their own feces or urine, for extended periods of time.
- Residents at risk for bedsores from not being turned every two hours as required.
- Residents not receiving range of motion exercises to maintain mobility and flexibility.
- Residents not receiving showers or other hygiene services as required.
- Residents being woken at 5 a.m. or earlier to be washed and dressed for the day to accommodate staff stretched too thin.
- Residents not being timely dressed in order to attend their meals.
- Residents not being escorted to the dining hall and sometimes missing meals entirely.
- Long waits for responses to call bells or no responses at all.
- Staff, under the direction of management or fear of management, falsifying records to indicate residents received services when in fact they did not.
- Improved staffing when state inspections occurred, leading to deceit about the true conditions at the facility .
The Golden Living nursing home facilities named in the Attorney General’s two actions:
- Golden LivingCenter — Doylestown (Doylestown).
- Golden LivingCenter — East Mountain (Wilkes-Barre).
- Golden LivingCenter — Lancaster (Lancaster).
- Golden LivingCenter — Mansion (Sunbury).
- Golden LivingCenter — Reading (Reading).
- Golden LivingCenter — Rosemont (Rosemont).
- Golden LivingCenter — Scranton (Scranton).
- Golden LivingCenter — Shippenville (Shippenville).
- Golden LivingCenter — Uniontown (Uniontown).
- Golden LivingCenter — West Shore (Camp Hill).
- Golden LivingCenter — Murrysville (Murrysville).
- Golden LivingCenter — Blue Ridge Mountain (Harrisburg).
- Golden LivingCenter — Camp Hill (Camp Hill).
- Golden LivingCenter — Clarion (Clarion).
- Golden LivingCenter — Gettysburg (Gettysburg).
- Golden LivingCenter — Hillview (Altoona).
- Golden LivingCenter — Lansdale (Lansdale).
- Golden LivingCenter — Monroeville (Monroeville).
- Golden LivingCenter — Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh).
- Golden LivingCenter — Phoenixville (Phoenixville).
- Golden LivingCenter — Stenton (Philadelphia).
- Golden LivingCenter — Summit (Wilkes-Barre).
- Golden LivingCenter — Tunkhannock (Tunkhannock).
- Golden LivingCenter — Western Reserve (Erie).
- Golden LivingCenter — York Terrace (Pottsville).
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