Nursing home chain is target of lawsuits

Families are suing owners who were allowed to operate despite red flags.

- BY JOCELYN WIENER

The chain of California nursing homes owned by Shlomo Rechnitz and his companies has faced state scrutiny for years. Now, a series of recent lawsuits is bringing renewed attention to his companies.

Elder care advocates say Rechnitz's companies are Exhibit A in how regulators at the Department of Public Health are failing some of California's most vulnerable citizens.

In 2021, a CalMatters investigation documented that the state Department of Public Health allowed Rechnitz and his companies to operate 18 nursing homes while delaying a decision on granting licenses to them. The state had kept the license applications in a "pending" status for seven years after he acquired them. Rechnitz and his companies were allowed to continue operating five additional homes even after the state denied them licenses.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law meant to address the issue, but state regulators in 2023 granted Rechnitz's companies the licenses to operate the homes just before the measure took effect.

Several homes that received licenses in 2023 are now being sued by patients and their family members.

In February 2024, an L.A. County jury awarded $2.34 million to an 84-yearold nursing home resident named Betsy Jentz, finding that Country Villa Wilshire had violated her rights on 132 occasions, at times leading to serious injuries.