HARRISBURG, Pa., July 2 (UPI) -- The Pennsylvania attorney general's office filed a law suit against one of the nation's largest nursing home chains, alleging residents were left "thirsty, hungry, dirty and unkempt" and denied "their most basic needs."
Prosecutors allege residents in Golden Living Centers, with 14 locations across the state, were left in soiled undergarments for extended periods, did not get basic hygiene services and sometimes missed meals. Golden Living is the nation's third-largest nursing chain with 295 facilities and more than 30,000 beds nationwide.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane alleges the nursing homes used "unfair and deceptive acts toward Pennsylvania consumers."
"As we allege, these companies profited at the expense of our most vulnerable residents," Kane said in a written statement. "These facilities promised to provide the care needed by residents and then failed to meet residents' most basic human needs. That is simply unacceptable."
The lawsuit was filed against Golden Gate National Senior Care LLC, which manages and operates 36 facilities statewide. Its subsidiaries are commonly known as Golden Living Centers.
The legal action comes as the attorney general's office entered in to a new controversial practice of hiring outside law firms to investigate nursing-home care. The firm will receive 21 percent of any fines paid by the chain.
Golden Living said the legal action was "baseless and wholly without merit." The company criticized Kane, saying she has an "inappropriate and questionable relationship" with the law firm leading investigation.
