HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – The state attorney general’s office has filed a lawsuit that claims a nursing home operator failed to provide basic services to elderly residents at its Harrisburg facility and 10 others in the state.

Pittsburgh-based Grane Healthcare, which manages and operates Colonial Park Care Center, is accused of limiting the number of certified nursing assistants on duty, leaving its facilities incapable of delivering the basic care it promised to residents.

The lawsuit announced Friday further alleges that Grane’s business practices are deceptive and misleading because it advertises that it strives for a very high staff-to-patient ratio.

“These alleged misrepresentations not only deceived the residents of these facilities, but Grane’s business practices also degraded residents and increased the risk of negative health consequences,” Attorney General Beemer said in a statement. “We believe there is ample evidence that these facilities fell far short when it came to providing essential services.”

Beemer said an investigation included interviews with former employees and a review of survey results reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The lawsuit alleges that incontinent residents were not checked and changed for hours at a time and continent residents did not get timely assistance for using bathrooms, causing them to urinate and defecate in their clothes.

Investigators also allege that showers were skipped or rushed, residents were left in their pajamas during the day because staff did not have time to dress them, and residents were not repositioned every two hours, as needed, but had to wait three to four hours.

The lawsuit further claims that residents were awakened for showers and dressing at 5 a.m. because of inadequate staffing on the day shift, faced long waits after ringing call bells, and missed meals or did not get enough to eat because staff did not have enough time to feed them.

A similar lawsuit is pending against Golden Gate National Senior Care LLC involving 25 Golden LivingCenters it operated in the state, including facilities in Camp Hill, Gettysburg, Harrisburg, and Lancaster.

The attorney general’s office announced last month that Reliant Senior Care agreed to pay $2 million to settle claims it failed to provide basic services to elderly residents. The company operated 22 nursing facilities throughout the state, including locations in Palmyra, Lititz, and Stevens.

Pennsylvanians with complaints about Grane or other health care facilities may call the attorney general’s Health Care helpline at 877-888-4877 or file a complaint at www.attorneygeneral.gov.

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