Shlomo Rechnitz is revered in Los Angeles Jewish circles for his bountiful charity.
I heard him talked about on KPCC’s Take Two show today. The Sacramento Bee reporter described his degree in Talmud and his many businesses but emphasized that Rechnitz had no training in health.
* The Bee found 10 of those chains – including the two largest, Plum Healthcare Group and a network owned by Shlomo Rechnitz of Los Angeles – performed below statewide averages last year in more than half of the examined quality-of-care categories, which gauge the incidence of problems such as pressure sores, infections and falls.
* The state’s largest chain, headed by Rechnitz, earned poor or below-average staffing ratings from the nonprofit California HealthCare Foundation in about 80 percent of its 54 homes. Even so, Rechnitz recently was given a federal judge’s blessing to purchase 19 more facilities.
* Homes owned by Shlomo Rechnitz, the state’s largest operator, fell below state averages on 35 of the 46 measures The Bee considered. Rechnitz did not respond to interview requests. However, in written responses, his legal and public-relations advisers emphasized that Rechnitz and his principal company, Brius Healthcare Services, have taken over numerous troubled facilities suffering significant patient-care issues.
