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When a nursing home changes ownership, families may wonder what the sale means for their loved one’s care. A facility may have a new owner or operator while keeping the same name, employees and outward appearance. In other cases, a nursing home may change its name even though some of the companies involved in its ownership or management remain connected.
Behind the scenes, a nursing home ownership change can affect staffing, management, policies, budgets and accountability.
Families should understand who owns and operates the nursing home, when the ownership change took effect and whether the new operator has a history of problems at other facilities.
Why Do Nursing Homes Change Ownership?
Nursing homes change ownership for many reasons. An owner may decide to leave a market, restructure debt, sell facilities following financial difficulties, or expand through a merger or acquisition.
In other situations, a court may appoint a receiver or temporary operator to keep a financially troubled nursing home open while a permanent buyer is identified. Although this may prevent an abrupt closure, it can also make it more difficult for residents and families to understand who is responsible for operating the facility.
A nursing home’s corporate structure may involve several different entities, including:
- The company that owns the building
- The licensed nursing home operator
- A management company overseeing daily operations
- A parent company or regional nursing home chain
- Investors with direct or indirect ownership interests
- A real estate investment trust that owns the property
- A temporary operator or court-appointed receiver
The name displayed outside the nursing home may reveal very little about the companies that actually own, manage, or control the facility.
Can a Nursing Home Keep the Same Name After It Is Sold?
Yes. A nursing home can keep the same name even after its licensed operator, management company, or controlling ownership interests change.
The opposite can also happen. A nursing home may be renamed or rebranded after a sale or acquisition.
Senior Justice Law Firm has previously reported on both situations.
For example, HCR ManorCare and its Heartland nursing homes were acquired by ProMedica in 2018. Some Heartland facilities initially retained their existing names before later being rebranded under ProMedica.
Another example occurred in Tampa. The former Manor Care Carrollwood nursing home was sold to Sovereign Healthcare and subsequently operated as Carrollwood Rehabilitation Center LLC, doing business as Northdale Rehabilitation Center.
These examples demonstrate why families should not rely on a facility’s name or branding alone to determine who owns a nursing home. The legal business name appearing in state licensing records and federal Medicare records may differ from the name displayed on the building or used in advertising.
How Can a Change in Nursing Home Ownership Affect Resident Care?
A change in ownership does not necessarily mean that nursing home care will get worse. A responsible new operator may invest in staffing, employee training, equipment, and improvements to the facility.
However, a major ownership or management transition can create risks if it is not handled carefully.
Changes may include:
- A new nursing home administrator or director of nursing
- Different staffing budgets or scheduling practices
- Changes to physicians, pharmacies, or outside vendors
- Employee turnover
- New care and documentation policies
- Changes to food, housekeeping or maintenance services
- New procedures for reporting incidents
- Different methods of communicating with residents and families
Residents with dementia, mobility limitations, or complex medical conditions may be particularly vulnerable to disruptions in routine and continuity of care.
Families should therefore pay close attention to changes in staffing, resident care, and their loved one’s physical or emotional condition during the transition.
Does a New Owner Erase a Nursing Home’s Previous Record?
No. A nursing home ownership change does not erase the facility’s history.
Past inspection reports, complaints, penalties, and other publicly available information can provide important context about the nursing home’s performance. These records may reveal recurring problems involving issues such as nursing home understaffing, falls, bedsores and pressure ulcers, medication errors, infections, or inadequate resident supervision.
Families should also determine which company owned or operated the nursing home when a particular injury or incident occurred.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) publishes nursing home ownership information and data involving changes of ownership, acquisitions, mergers and consolidations. These records can help families better understand the companies associated with a facility.
Why the New Nursing Home Owner’s History Matters
Families researching a nursing home after an ownership change should look beyond the individual facility.
If the incoming company owns or operates other nursing homes, its performance across those facilities may provide useful information about its operating practices.
Questions families may want to investigate include:
- Does the company own or operate other nursing homes?
- What are the staffing and inspection ratings at those facilities?
- Have its nursing homes received repeated serious citations?
- Has the company been involved in government enforcement actions?
- Does it use multiple ownership and management companies?
- Has it recently acquired numerous nursing homes?
- Does it appear to have the resources necessary to improve the facility?
CMS publishes information about nursing home chains as well as individual facilities. Reviewing the broader company can provide additional context that may not be apparent from looking at one nursing home’s star rating.
What Happens to Existing Corrective Action Agreements After a Sale?
What happens to an existing corrective action agreement depends on the terms of the agreement and the structure of the ownership transaction.
When a nursing home operator settles an enforcement action, it may agree to increase staffing, invest money in resident care, or undergo independent compliance monitoring.
Depending on the circumstances, some requirements may remain connected to the facility after an ownership transfer, while others may apply specifically to the previous operator.
Families researching a nursing home with a history of enforcement actions should therefore determine whether corrective measures remain in effect after an ownership change and whether the new operator has made additional changes.
How to Find Out Who Owns a Nursing Home
Families trying to determine who owns a nursing home can consult several sources.
- Medicare Nursing Home Care Compare
CMS’s Nursing Home Care Compare allows families to review information about a facility, including health inspections, staffing, quality measures, penalties, and ownership information. - CMS Nursing Home Ownership Data
CMS publishes datasets identifying owners of Medicare-certified skilled nursing facilities and reported ownership changes. Depending on the available records, families may be able to identify legal business names, buyers, sellers, transaction types, and effective dates. - State Nursing Home Licensing Records
State health departments and licensing agencies may identify the nursing home’s licensed operator, administrator, and pending or completed ownership-transfer applications. - Secretary of State Business Records
Corporate filings may help identify company managers, registered agents, and businesses associated with a nursing home’s owner or operator. - Government Enforcement Records
State attorneys general, CMS, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Justice publish information about certain nursing home enforcement actions and settlements. - Local News Reports
Local news organizations frequently report on nursing home sales, receiverships, bankruptcies, closures, and proposed ownership changes.
Because nursing home corporate structures can be complicated, families may need to consult several sources to understand who actually owns and operates a facility.
Questions to Ask When a Nursing Home Changes Ownership
If your loved one’s nursing home announces an ownership change, consider asking:
- What is the legal name of the new owner and operator?
- When does the ownership transfer take effect?
- Will the administrator or director of nursing change?
- Will existing nurses and caregivers remain?
- Will staffing levels or schedules change?
- Will residents’ physicians, pharmacies or other providers change?
- How will medical records and care plans be transferred?
- Will existing complaints or corrective action plans remain active?
- Who should families contact with concerns after the transition?
Families should also document significant changes in their loved one’s condition or care, particularly during the weeks before and after a transfer.
Who Is Responsible for Nursing Home Neglect After an Ownership Change?
Determining responsibility for nursing home abuse or neglect can become more complicated when a facility changes ownership.
The licensed nursing home operator may not be the only relevant company. Management organizations, parent companies, and other entities may influence staffing, budgets, policies, and daily operations. The company that owns the nursing home’s real estate may also be different from the company responsible for resident care.
Investigating a nursing home neglect claim may therefore require examining:
- State licensing records
- CMS ownership disclosures
- Management agreements
- Corporate relationships
- The effective date of an ownership transfer
- Which companies controlled staffing and resident care when the injury occurred
A nursing home sale, name change, or corporate restructuring does not automatically eliminate potential responsibility for harm that occurred before or during the ownership transition.
Speak with a nursing home abuse attorney
If your loved one suffered a serious injury, abuse, neglect, or an unexplained decline before, during, or after a nursing home ownership change, determining which companies owned and controlled the facility may be an important part of investigating what happened.
Senior Justice Law Firm is the nation’s largest law firm focused on representing victims of nursing home abuse and neglect and their families. Our attorneys investigate nursing home ownership and corporate relationships as part of determining which companies may be responsible for a resident’s injuries.
Contact our nursing home abuse attorneys for a free consultation to discuss what happened to your loved one and learn more about your family’s legal options.
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