Nursing home chain sued by Pennsylvania AG.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (7/2, McCoy, 617K) reports “the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office Wednesday filed a sweeping lawsuit against” the Golden Living nursing home chain, “accusing it of understaffing that has left residents ‘thirsty, hungry, dirty and unkempt.’” The suit alleges “that Golden Living was guilty of deceptive advertising in Pennsylvania in that it promised decent care but didn’t deliver it.” Rather, “residents found ‘no one was available to meet their most basic needs, like escorting them to the toilet or refilling a water glass.’” The action taken by the attorney general’s office “is the first to stem from the office’s controversial practice of hiring an outside law firm to dig into the quality of care at nursing homes.”

        The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (7/2, Ove, 621K) reports “the suit names 14 centers, four of which are in Western Pennsylvania in Mount Lebanon, Monroeville, Altoona and Clarion,” and says “Golden Living violated the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law by deceiving consumers in its marketing.”

        The Lancaster (PA) New Era (7/2, Stauffer, 206K) reports Attorney General Kathleen Kane issued a statement saying, “As we allege, these companies profited at the expense of our most vulnerable residents. 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 Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News (7/2, Robinson, 359K), the Pittsburgh Business Times (7/2, Mamula, 25K), and the Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times Leader (7/2, Mocarsky, 115K) also cover the story.