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Allegations Against Nursing Homes Draw Strong Reactions

WILKES-BARRE — The state attorney general has taken legal action against a chain of nursing homes, alleging there was a failure to provide “basic hu...
golden livingcenter

WILKES-BARRE -- The state attorney general has taken legal action against a chain of nursing homes, alleging there was a failure to provide "basic human needs" at 14 facilities throughout the state.

Three of those facilities, known as Golden LivingCenters, are in Northeastern Pennsylvania. There is one in Tunkhannock, one in Pottsville, and one in Wilkes-Barre.

"I was a health care technician, a nurses aid, and I've worked in a few nursing homes and it's a shame the elderly don't get the care that they need," said Sandra Cappetto of Wilkes-Barre.

According to the attorney general's office, Golden Gate National Senior Care, which owns and manages Golden LivingCenters, promised customers a clean and comfortable environment with food and water available anytime.

Instead, the attorney general said there was a pattern of understaffing at those places, leading to problems including:

· Residents not receiving showers or other hygiene services as required.

· Residents not being escorted to the dining hall and sometimes missing meals entirely.

· Long waits for responses to call bells or no responses at all.

According to investigators, staff at those facilities also falsified records to indicate residents received services when in fact they did not.
Pat Nulton of Wilkes-Barre worked as a certified nursing assistant for years. Her father was at Golden LivingCenter in Wilkes-Barre. She said it was a good experience. Still, the allegations did not surprise her.

"When you're on one side doing the care, but then when you have to go see a family member in a facility, I've been on the buzzer to get attention for family members," she said.

"I know some are worse than others, but they all go through the same thing with the shortage of the nursing staff and everything and you have so many clients you've got to see and get out of bed and you're always in a hurry and you never get to take your time with the patient," said Cappetto.

"When you're totally understaffed, you're doing double, sometimes triple work because the residents are the ones who suffer. It's good that they're being investigated," said Nulton.

In a statement to Newswatch 16, Golden Gate National Senior Care officials in Texas said, in part:

"We understand that a complaint has been filed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We were not furnished with a copy...once we receive a copy and have had the opportunity to review...our corporate office will comment further."

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