Q: Fillmore Capital Partners purchased Golden Living, formerly Beverly Enter-
prises, in March 2006. How has quality improved since then?
A: We track ourselves against the health deficiency index. We are 10% better than the state average in quality surveys of facilities.
The other thing we are doing is investing in infrastructure. Over the next six months, the number of directors of operations will increase to approximately 50 from 34. They’ll have six to eight living centers of oversight. This is a $4 million investment.
Q: What else is the company working on?
A: From 2004 to 2006, we have increased hands-on care we are delivering in our nursing homes. By the end of the year, we want consistent assignments.
Q: A New York Times expose recently uncovered private equity firms’ tendency to cut staff and costs to improve profits. Your thoughts?
A: I want people to know we are concerned about quality of care. We put more than $100 million into the company since 2006. We now have two big initiatives: a $4 million investment to make living centers wireless this year and a $5.5 million investment for an electronic medication management system, starting in 2008.
Q: Your company has operated under a few names, including Golden Horizons and Golden Ventures. What are you now?
A: We felt we were diluting our brand, so
we chose Golden Living as the name of our company.
From the December 01, 2007 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
