Nursing home advocates demonstrate outside Carlyle's headquarters -- again

Washington Business Journal - by Neil Adler Staff Reporter

A national caravan of caregivers and advocates for seniors arrived in D.C. to hold a demonstration on Monday outside the headquarters of private equity giant The Carlyle Group, which is taking over nursing home chain Manor Care Inc. for $6.3 billion.

A large health care workers union, SEIU Healthcare, is organizing the demonstration. The union, which held a similar demonstration outside Carlyle's headquarters about a month ago, is concerned about the buyout's effect on seniors, taxpayers and nursing-home workers.

At Monday's demonstration, nursing-home workers, family members of patients and seniors advocates spoke about the need for safe staffing levels and improved care. On Tuesday, they plan to visit Capitol Hill and lobby Congress to hold hearings on private equity ownership of nursing homes.

Toledo, Ohio-based Manor Care (NYSE: HCR) runs about a dozen nursing homes in the Washington area and hundreds more nationwide. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of November, Carlyle said in a statement.

The protesters want Carlyle executives discuss their specific plans for Manor Care. Officials with SEIU Healthcare say they are worried about the fate of nursing-home workers and are afraid that care may deteriorate.

They also say Carlyle's purchase will result in a windfall of millions of dollars for top Manor Care executives, and Carlyle stands to reap fees on the deal that could total hundreds of millions of dollars.

On Monday, Carlyle pledged a commitment to quality care at Manor Care. The pledge emphasizes education and training of caregivers, staffing levels that ensure proper clinical care is given, appropriate capital investment to maintain facilities and technology, and abiding by federal and state requirements.

"Meeting the care needs of Manor Care's patients and residents is our top priority," said Karen Bechtel, a Carlyle managing director and head of its health care team, in the firm's statement. "Manor Care is poised to become an even stronger health care provider under Carlyle's ownership."

SEIU Healthcare leaders say the pledge is a public relations tactic designed to help the private equity firm get the deal wrapped up.

"SEIU caregivers, senior advocates, and community leaders will continue to work to hold the Carlyle Group accountable for improving care and staffing at Manor Care," said Gerry Hudson, executive vice president of SEIU Healthcare, in a statement released by the union.