26 Colorado nursing homes managed by same company face lawsuits alleging millions in unpaid bills

Twenty-six Colorado nursing homes managed by the same company have been sued over the last year for a combined million after they allegedly failed to pay vendors who provided short-term staffing The nursing homes in metro Denver and the rest located across the state were all managed by the same company Vivage-Beecan when they fell behind on their bills While multiple elder care facilities faced increased costs during the pandemic it would be remarkable for a facility to not pay its vendors stated David Grabowski a professor of robustness care framework at Harvard University s therapeutic school Residents do best when their homes ownership and management are stable so attainable financial problems that could lead to a sale or closure are concerning he revealed That s a warning sign Grabowski declared Maybe beyond a warning sign a cry for help Glendale-based Vivage which communicated a merger with California management company Beecan in owns elder care communities in Colorado including seven that face lawsuits Beecan provides services to homes in Colorado California and New Mexico The two companies mentioned they are at present separate but couldn t answer before deadline if they hadn t completed the merger or had split at certain point A announcement from Beecan noted the homes owners hired it to improve care quality while they were dealing with staffing shortages Nursing facilities struggled during the pandemic and lost a combined million in it noted The pandemic had a devastating impact on nursing homes throughout the country due to the age vulnerability of patients staff shortages and burnout and financial strain resulting from temporary staffing agencies charging two to three times their pre-pandemic rates the announcement explained Judges in Boulder District Court already ordered six of the homes being sued to pay a combined after their attorney quit and they didn t hire a new one by the court s deadline If the remaining lawsuits go against them the owners of the individual homes could be on the hook for anywhere from about to more than million according to court filings The totals could grow because of interest on the original bills and legal fees which the losing party typically has to cover for the winner None of the attorneys representing the companies that filed of the ongoing lawsuits or three of the completed ones responded to questions from The Denver Post If a nursing home closed the impact could reverberate throughout Colorado s medical care system People who are recovering from a serious injury or surgery sometimes need to undergo physical therapy in a nursing home before returning home If homes closed patients could get stuck spending more time in hospitals increasing costs and leaving fewer beds available for others who need care Matt Nielsen a regional operations director overseeing eight homes that Beecan manages in the Denver area spoke on behalf of Wellsprings Care Center in Englewood which faces about in indicates Selected homes have improved under Beecan s management and Wellsprings will continue to provide quality care he explained I have facilities that have increased their overall ratings from three or four stars in Medicare s ratings to five stars Nielsen disclosed Nineteen homes still facing lawsuits now belong to Kansas-based Recover Care though only one suit listed the company as a defendant Representatives for the company didn t return phone messages and its email system refused to accept messages from addresses it didn t list as approved Who owned the nursing homes now belonging to Recover Care at the time when they allegedly went into debt remains unclear Particular nursing home administrators called Vivage-Beecan a former owner while representatives for the company mentioned it only offered management services Nielsen reported he didn t know who owned the homes he works with A company executive pointed to SavaSeniorCare which shut down in but didn t answer which of the homes belonged to Sava Beecan s declaration announced Sava sold its Colorado homes to new owners between and Greater part of the lawsuits involved staffing companies though an insurance company a pharmacy and a business offering therapy for people who can t swallow also filed insists During the pandemic nurses had more options leading specific to take higher-paid temporary assignments or to switch to other settings greater part of which pay more than nursing homes A state description uncovered staffing agencies made roughly profit margins when they supplied certified nursing assistants licensed practical nurses and registered nurses in the first half of Nursing homes used fewer temporary staff hours in than they had the previous year but still more than they had in The ratio of residents to staff and the mix of types of strength care workers in a home are two of the most of essential factors in care quality so any debt that interferes with a facility s ability to staff its shifts could create a matter revealed Andrew Olenski an assistant professor of economics at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania A staffing company is generally not a vendor you want to stiff he revealed Matt Dollar administrator for Poudre Canyon Medical and Rehabilitation in Fort Collins mentioned the lawsuits won t affect residents The home which sold in September faces about in asserts from two lawsuits Related Articles Medicaid cuts would threaten rural hospitals nursing homes in Colorado Eight taken to hospital after fire explosion at Denver assisted-living facility Dollar revealed Vivage-Beecan directed nursing homes funds toward the wrong priorities and fell behind on necessities like paying for staffing He described Vivage-Beecan as the former owner but didn t elaborate on where it spent the money The old ownership regime was notorious for not paying their bills he reported A comment from Beecan declared it never owned Poudre Canyon or any of the other homes Nursing homes typically don t have various discretionary expenses with majority money going toward staffing declared Nina Kohn a law professor at Syracuse University in New York That makes it particularly significant for them to maintain a reputation for paying on time because they wouldn t be able to function if vendors cut them off she disclosed Even if there is new ownership turnover the reputation may remain Kohn explained Nursing homes sued over unpaid bills Allison Care Center Lakewood Arbor View Care Center Arvada Aviva at Fitzsimons Aurora Broadview Wellbeing and Rehabilitation Center Greeley Cambridge Care Center Lakewood Colonial Soundness and Rehabilitation Center Colorado Springs Creekside Village Medical and Rehabilitation Center Fort Collins Crestmoor Strength and Rehabilitation Center Denver Denver North Care Center Denver Desert Willow Physical condition and Rehabilitation Center Pueblo Elk Ridge Vitality and Rehabilitation Center Montrose Falcon Heights Fitness and Rehabilitation Center Colorado Springs Fountain View Physical condition and Rehabilitation Center Colorado Springs Harmony Pointe Nursing Center Lakewood Junction Creek Wellbeing and Rehabilitation Center Durango Kiowa Hills Soundness and Rehabilitation Center Colorado Springs Linden Place Physical condition and Rehabilitation Center Longmont Orchard Valley Medical and Rehabilitation Center Palisade Pelican Pointe Vitality and Rehabilitation Center Windsor Poudre Canyon Wellness and Rehabilitation Center Fort Collins South Platte Wellbeing and Rehabilitation Center Brush Sterling Strength and Rehabilitation Center Sterling Thornton Care Center Thornton Wellsprings Care Center Englewood Westlake Lodge Soundness and Rehabilitation Center Greeley Wheat Ridge Care Center Wheat Ridge Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get fitness news sent straight to your inbox