The Alden Group, a healthcare provider for older adults, is being accused of intentionally understaffing their facilities.
AARP and other counsel have alleged “chronic and intentional understaffing” in a class action lawsuit against Alden Group, an Illinois-based healthcare provider for older adults.
The complaint, representing residents from Alden Group’s six nursing facilities in the Chicago area, says that the provider attracts large groups of residents, only to understaff their facilities. This has led to neglect, residents suffering from injuries and illnesses that could have been prevented, and dangerous and unsanitary living conditions, according to the lawsuit.
In understaffing their facilities and hiding their practices from regulators, the filed complaint stated, Alden saves "millions of dollars each year." The filed suit also stated that residents were required to sign illegal admission agreements that would prevent them from suing for injuries that occurred due to understaffing.
"The goal with this class action is to finally end the chronic understaffing at Alden facilities. It will also send a strong message to other nursing homes and assisted living facilities that they too will be held accountable for intentional understaffing," Steven Levin, a partner at Levin & Perconti, a Chicago law firm noted for its work on behalf of nursing home residents, said in a statement.
In addition to monetary, declaratory, and injunctive relief, the plaintiffs also seek to hold the provider accountable for its alleged neglect and unfair business practices, which violate the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
The complaint states that Alden profits from its facilities operating with inadequate numbers of certified nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, RNs, dietary staff, and therapists. Most of the facilities named in the complaint provided less than 50% of necessary nursing care hours for their residents between 2018 and 2020, the complaint said.
"Nursing facilities have a responsibility to meet the individualized needs of every resident. That is not happening at these Alden facilities," William Alvarado Rivera, senior vice president of litigation at AARP Foundation, said in a statement. "It is imperative that residents can hold them accountable in court through private rights of action for abusive and neglectful practices."
The complaint also states that Alden facilities lied to regulators, with some employees saying the provider falsified documents, going so far as to claim individuals who no longer worked at a facility to still be on staff.
“Nursing facilities have a responsibility to meet the individualized needs of every resident. That is not happening at these Alden facilities. It is imperative that residents can hold them accountable in court through private rights of action for abusive and neglectful practices.”
William Alvarado Rivera, senior vice president of litigation at AARP Foundation
Jasmyne Ray is the revenue cycle editor at HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Alden Group has been accused of intentionally understaffing some of its Chicago-area facilities, causing residents to suffer.
Through these practices, the provider saves millions of dollars, while also profiting from operating facilities with inadequate numbers of certified staff, a lawsuit alleges.
The provider's alleged actions violate both the Illinois Nursing Home Care Act and Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.