Illicit Practices Uncovered in Nursing Home Sector
In the heart of the United States, a persistent crisis unfolds within the nursing home industry. For decades, allegations of financial, psychological, and physical abuse have been coupled with neglect, creating a troubling picture of care for the nation's elderly population.
A 2023 investigation led by New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed that four Centers Health Care nursing homes – Holliswood Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Queens, Beth Abraham Center for Rehabilitation in the Bronx, Martine Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in White Plains, and Buffalo Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Buffalo – had been charged with fraud, with millions of taxpayer dollars being misused.
This misuse of funds left elderly residents in horrific conditions, such as being forced to sit in their own waste. The history of corruption in the nursing home industry can be traced back to a 1950 amendment to the Social Security Act, which allowed nursing homes to collect money directly from their residents.
The fraud charges against Centers Health Care nursing homes were not an isolated incident. In June 2023, the same nursing homes were plaintiffs in a lawsuit against a New York state law requiring facilities to spend 70% of their profits towards resident care and limiting profits.
Inspectors of nursing homes throughout the country have often been proven to be ineffective, with many citations going unreported on the Care Compare website. Even when inspectors do make a citation, they can be privately appealed by the nursing home multiple times.
The Department of Justice reported that every year, one in ten people over the age of 65 are abused, and this number is likely low due to underreporting of this type of abuse. Half of all nursing home staff have admitted to abusing patients, with the majority of the maltreatment being done by orderlies and aids.
Mary Adelaide Mendelson, a muckraker and investigative journalist, reported in 1974 that she could only call one nursing home a 'good home' out of over 200 she investigated. Decades ago, a group of unethical businessmen, known as the Syndicate, owned many nursing homes and were involved in financial manipulation and neglect of patients.
This group was made famous by Bernard Bergman, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who made around $100 million off of nursing homes by 1975. The nursing home industrial complex has a long history of corruption, with instances of financial manipulation, neglect of patients, and even connections to organized crime, as seen in the Syndicate and Bernard Bergman's operations in the 1970s.
Proposed alternatives to nursing homes include Home Care, Medicare PACE, and Respite Care, each with their own advantages and drawbacks. Despite numerous scandals and corruption within the nursing home industry, effective regulation to inspect and maintain health standards is yet to be implemented.
In January 2024, numerous nursing home citations were issued, highlighting deficiencies in emergency preparedness, residents' rights, and freedom from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. If a citation is issued against a nursing home, it can be privately appealed by said nursing home multiple times.
The government website Care Compare contains information about nursing home ratings and citations. However, the search results do not provide information about the five nursing homes in New York charged in June 2023 by the New York Attorney General for misuse of more than $83 million in tax funds.
Families of these elderly people were unaware of the environment their loved ones were living in. Over 20 states passed bills that limited the ability of families to sue nursing homes over COVID-related neglect of their patients. As of 2023, over 1.3 million people reside in nursing homes, with 10% of residents experiencing elder abuse annually.
The misuse of funds, coupled with a high turnover rate of staff and ineffective inspections, paints a dire picture for the future of the nursing home industry. Until effective regulation is implemented, the elderly population in nursing homes remains at risk.
