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Concern Over COVID-19 Outbreak at Greystone Healthcare Facilities
Greystone Healthcare operates over 40 care centers in the United States and many of these facilities have recently been tied to large outbreaks of COVID-19. A recent Intercept article, describes Greystone as the “epicenter of COVID-19 deaths.”
Federal data suggests that 132 Greystone residents died because of COVID-19, but despite this unfortunate and sad death toll, money from the federal government has continued to pour into Greystone facilities. So far, $15 million in COVID-19 grants and loans have been awarded to Greystone since the pandemic began. These grants and loans are largely unregulated.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Health said, “No-strings-attached relief money does not appear to be relieving the impact of the pandemic on nursing home residents. No oversight on how taxpayer dollars are spent, and little oversight on how our loved ones are treated in these facilities.”
The Greystone Connection to Donald Trump
In May of 2019, Greystone was attempting to win a bid to take over a financially insolvent nursing home company called Rosewood. Rosewood was taken over by HUD (The Department of Housing and Urban Development) following one of the biggest defaults in history on a government backed mortgage for a nursing home chain. After the default, the federal government took possession of the Rosewood nursing home chain.
On May 31, 2019, coincidentally the same exact day that bids were due to purchase Rosewood from the federal government, Greystone’s CEO donated more than $350,000 to Trump’s campaign using a shell company that did not list his name. Following this, more Greystone executives donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Trump campaign, or PACs supporting Trump. Unsurprisingly, Greystone won the bid to take over the government-owned Rosewood nursing home chain.
Greystone’s Response to High COVID Death Rates
Greystone has since responded saying they went above and beyond what was required from them by public health guidelines. Greystone also argued about the federal data/deaths being incorrect, but did not provide an explanation for the claim. Sadly, their claims do not match up with those of the residents, their families, inspection reports and even staff members.
At Greystone’s Apollo facility in St. Petersburg, Florida, the director of nursing posted on Facebook criticizing the lack of protective equipment saying, “We have burned our infection control manuals, thrown everything we were taught and practice out the window just to get by.”
Joyce Casbar’s mother contracted COVID-19 at the Florida Apollo facility and sadly died in July. Joyce is rightfully outraged by Greystone’s shortcomings because there is evidence that they could have done better preventative measures. A 32 page inspection report from the Florida Department of Health, done on May 15, details the many infection control violations at the home. The report identified medical devices that were not properly cleaned, staff not washing their hands after leaving resident care areas, staff not using proper PPE or properly storing used N95 masks for reuse, leaving a resident’s tubing and a drainage bag on the floor, and flat out not having PPE available. These gross deviations from the standard of care are all grounds for a COVID-19 lawsuit. All of these violations are major problems in a nursing home during normal times, yet outrageous during a pandemic.
Significant Death Toll at the Following Greystone Facilities
The following coronavirus high death count was reported at the following Greystone nursing homes:
University Rehab at Northmoor in Peoria, Illinois – 51 deaths
Apollo Health and Rehab in Saint Petersburg – 16 deaths
Rockledge Health and Rehab Center in Rockledge, Florida – 24 deaths
Lake Cook Rehab and Healthcare Center in Chicago – 20 deaths
Riverside Rehab and Healthcare Center in Alton, Illinois -21 deaths
Wrongful Deaths Should Be Prevented in Skilled Nursing Facilities
While death is inevitable in long term care facilities, preventable harm and wrongful death should be stopped. The federal government and private investors have given an influx of money to nursing home corporations like Greystone, so lack of resources is no excuse. In fact, from 2015 to 2019 Greystone’s loan portfolio double in size from $15 billion to $30 billion and since the company is private, they don’t need to disclose how much profit they make from their portfolio of nursing homes and loans.
Many of these nursing home corporate executives release detailed updates about “equity” or “cash flow statements,” but hardly ever about “patient care” or “safety.” It would be refreshing to hear the executives talk about how they are preventing bed sores or falls in these facilities rather than the profit they are making their investors.
If you or a loved one suffered abuse or neglect inside of a skilled nursing facility, please contact Senior Justice law firm by calling 888-375-9998 or by utilizing the chat feature on our website. Our firm has extensive experience handling nursing home abuse cases against Greystone, as well as almost every major nursing home chain.
Call or chat with us today to see why we are different.
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