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The thirteen Southern California skilled nursing and long-term care facilities [see list by city at end of release] owned and operated by Life Care Centers of America, Inc., are the subject of a class action lawsuit (Case #07CC01225), filed in Orange County Superior Court March 13, 2007, alleging unlawful business practices, unfair and fraudulent business practices, violations of health & safety codes, and violations of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act on behalf of Consuelo Deburger, by and through her Successor in Interest Bernadette Strobel, and on the behalf of the thousands of other citizens of the State of California who did or have resided in a Life Care facility between March 15, 2003 through March. 15, 2007.
The essence of the complaint's allegations is that Life Care skilled nursing and long-term care facilities have a long history of providing substandard care to residents, as well as violating their rights, as demonstrated by the facilities' chronic violations that consistently earns them multiple notices of deficiencies by the California Department of Health Services. For instance, the complaint alleges that the Life Care Center facility in La Mirada, the Mirada Hills Rehab and Convalescent Hospital, received 25 notices of deficiencies from Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006, while the Orange Grove Rehabilitation Hospital in Garden Grove earned itself 13 citations of deficiency during the same time period.
The lawsuit alleges that in spite of promising residents, patients and their families specific medical and therapeutic care, the reality is that Life Care shaves the budgets of their facilities so that they are unable to provide the level of patient staffing and quality of care required, at the very minimum, by the State of California. This results in DHS citations and an indicator of the conditions in which residents and patients are forced to live.
"And to add insult to injury," says Long Beach attorney Stephen M. Garcia of The Garcia Law Firm "Life Care not only doesn't provide what patients are promised, but 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 their patients, one of the most vulnerable segments of our society."
Life Care Centers of America, Inc. is one of the largest private provider of skilled nursing and long-term care in the country with 260 sites in 28 states. According to a Health Executive Magazine article that profiled founder and Chairman Forrest Preston, Life Care, headquartered in Cleveland, Tenn., has 30,000 employees and rising sales of nearly $1 billion. Yet, the lawsuit alleges, the budgets of Life Care facilities are cut to the bare bone.
"I believe that California is ready to stand up and say to operators like Life Care that we are no longer going to permit our elderly relatives' and friends' value to be determined by how much money operators can make off of them," says Garcia. "Every company has the right to make a profit, but not an unlawful one made off the pain and agony of our parents and grandparents."
For information about the lawsuit, call The Garcia Law Firm at (800) 281-8515 or visit http://www.lawgarcia.com.
List of Nursing Homes
Barstow
-- Life Care Centers of America, Inc. dba Rimrock Villa Convalescent Hospital
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 17 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 10 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents.
Bellflower
-- Life Care Centers of America, Inc. dba Bel Tooren Villa Convalescent Hospital
* Sept. 1 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 10 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents, including 2 deficiencies for mistreatment of residents, 3 deficiencies for quality of care issues, and 2 deficiencies for violating residents' rights.
Corona
-- Life Care Centers of America, Inc. dba Life Care Center of Corona
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 9 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 10 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents.
Escondido
-- Escondido Medical Investors Lmtd. Partnership dba Life Care Center of Escondido
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 20 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 11 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents.
Garden Grove
-- Garden Grove Medical Investors, Ltd. dba Orangegrove Rehabilitation Hospital
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 13 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 9 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents.
Lake Forest
-- El Toro Medical Investors Lmtd. Partnership dba Lake Forest Nursing Center
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 11 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 15 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents.
La Habra
-- Life Care Centers of America, Inc. dba La Habra Convalescent Hospital
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received multiple notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
La Mirada
-- Life Care Centers of America, Inc. dba Imperial Convalescent Hospital
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 17 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents, including 2 deficiencies for mistreatment of residents, 4 deficiencies for quality of care issues, and 2 deficiencies for violating residents' rights.
-- Life Care Centers of America, Inc. dba Mirada Hills Rehab & Convalescent Hospital
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 25 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 16 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents, including two deficiencies for mistreatment of residents, three deficiencies for quality of care issues, and two deficiencies for violating residents' rights.
Norwalk
-- Life Care Centers of America, Inc. dba North Walk Villa Convalescent Hospital
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 19 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 24 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents.
San Gabriel
-- San Gabriel Medical Investors LLC dba Life Care Center of San Gabriel
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 8 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 14 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents.
Sun City
-- Life Care Centers of America, Inc. dba Sun City Convalescent Center
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 17 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 12 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
Vista
-- Vista Medical Investors Lmtd. Partnership dba Life Care Center of Vista
* Sept. 1, 2005 to Nov. 30, 2006: received 13 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents and for violating residents' rights.
* Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005: received 10 notices of deficiencies from the California Dept. of Health Services for providing substandard care to their residents.
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