News

By WARREN WOLFE, Star Tribune

A resident of a St. Louis Park nursing home filed a federal lawsuit Thursday alleging consumer fraud by a Milwaukee-based care chain with eight facilities in Minnesota. The suit was filed on behalf of as many as 1,400 residents of eight Extendicare homes.

The suit by Laura Bernstein, 59, who lives at the Texas Terrace nursing home, says Extendicare promises more than it can deliver, resulting in increased earnings, poor care for residents and hundreds of rule violations in Minnesota.

The suit said state inspectors have cited the homes for 218 violations in the past two years, far above the state average of 10 per year.

The class-action suit, filed in Minneapolis, seeks restitution of about 40 percent of the fees paid by private-pay residents, a change in Extendicare policies and a court-appointed monitor to ensure compliance.

Extendicare called the allegations "false and misleading" and said the suit overstated the number of violations. "I'm in these sites every day and I know first-hand the good things we're doing for residents in those buildings," said Amy Wiffler, director of operations for Minnesota.

Bernstein was not available for comment Thursday.

The suit said Extendicare lured clients by promises of care it could not provide. In general, nursing homes are paid more for residents with greater medical needs. Extendicare sought out high-need residents "in order to increase the profits, regardless of whether they could meet their needs," said Gale Pearson, the Minneapolis attorney who filed the suit.

A similar suit against Extendicare was filed two months ago in Seattle. The California lawyer handling that case is co-counsel in the Minnesota case. Extendicare's attorney in Seattle, Barbara Duffy, said the suits are a "new fad" aimed at "drumming up personal-injury claimants" for the attorneys.

The suit said Extendicare adopted a national "green flag policy" for potential residents with serious medical conditions. It said that the policy grants immediate admission, regardless of a home's resources, and that only a corporate vice president can deny admission to such a resident.

In addition to Texas Terrace, the suit names Golden Valley Rehabilitation and Care Center; Health & Rehabilitation Center of New Brighton; Richfield Health Center; Robbinsdale Rehabilitation and Care Center; Rose of Sharon Manor in Roseville; Park Health and Rehabilitation Center in St. Louis Park, and Galtier Health Center in St. Paul. It also seeks to include residents of two Extendicare homes that have been closed, Lexington Health & Rehabilitation Center in St. Paul and Whittier Health Center in Minneapolis.

The Golden Valley home is listed on a federal register of "special focus homes," judged to be among the worst and requiring inspections every six months. State Health Department officials noted Thursday that recent inspections indicate the home is improving.

Extendicare, which is owned by a Canadian firm, paid a $2.3 million fine to Wisconsin in 2005 in a civil settlement over serious nursing home violations arising from the 2003 death of a resident. It also paid about $200,000 in fines after two deaths at a home in Sun Prairie, Wis.

© 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.