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 countless elder care facilities faced increased costs during the pandemic it would be exceptional for a facility to not pay its vendors declared David Grabowski a professor of medical care program at Harvard University s biological school Residents do best when their homes ownership and management are stable so achievable financial problems that could lead to a sale or closure are concerning he disclosed That s a warning sign Grabowski commented Maybe beyond a warning sign a cry for help Glendale-based Vivage which revealed 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 disclosed they are at this time separate but couldn t answer before deadline if they hadn t completed the merger or had split at specific point A report 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 reported 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 disclosed 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 healthcare 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 insists Particular homes have improved under Beecan s management and Wellsprings will continue to provide quality care he reported I have facilities that have increased their overall ratings from three or four stars in Medicare s ratings to five stars Nielsen announced 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 Chosen nursing home administrators called Vivage-Beecan a former owner while representatives for the company explained it only offered management services Nielsen commented 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 comment announced Sava sold its Colorado homes to new owners between and Bulk 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 states During the pandemic nurses had more options leading particular to take higher-paid temporary assignments or to switch to other settings preponderance of which pay more than nursing homes A state statement 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 medical care workers in a home are two of the preponderance major factors in care quality so any debt that interferes with a facility s ability to staff its shifts could create a complication stated 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 announced Matt Dollar administrator for Poudre Canyon Healthcare and Rehabilitation in Fort Collins commented the lawsuits won t affect residents The home which sold in September faces about in proposes 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 explained 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 stated A declaration from Beecan reported it never owned Poudre Canyon or any of the other homes Nursing homes typically don t have several discretionary expenses with bulk money going toward staffing announced Nina Kohn a law professor at Syracuse University in New York That makes it particularly crucial for them to maintain a reputation for paying on time because they wouldn t be able to function if vendors cut them off she mentioned Even if there is new ownership turnover the reputation may remain Kohn noted Nursing homes sued over unpaid bills Allison Care Center Lakewood Arbor View Care Center Arvada Aviva at Fitzsimons Aurora Broadview Medical and Rehabilitation Center Greeley Cambridge Care Center Lakewood Colonial Fitness and Rehabilitation Center Colorado Springs Creekside Village Robustness and Rehabilitation Center Fort Collins Crestmoor Wellbeing and Rehabilitation Center Denver Denver North Care Center Denver Desert Willow Wellbeing and Rehabilitation Center Pueblo Elk Ridge Vitality and Rehabilitation Center Montrose Falcon Heights Vitality and Rehabilitation Center Colorado Springs Fountain View Physical condition and Rehabilitation Center Colorado Springs Harmony Pointe Nursing Center Lakewood Junction Creek Robustness and Rehabilitation Center Durango Kiowa Hills Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center Colorado Springs Linden Place Soundness and Rehabilitation Center Longmont Orchard Valley Robustness and Rehabilitation Center Palisade Pelican Pointe Fitness and Rehabilitation Center Windsor Poudre Canyon Fitness and Rehabilitation Center Fort Collins South Platte Fitness and Rehabilitation Center Brush Sterling Wellbeing 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 robustness news sent straight to your inbox