Brookdale Senior Living Solutions owns and operates retirement homes across the United States. The company was established in 1978 and is based in
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.Fortress Investment Group became the majority owner of Brookdale, holding approximately 51% of its share.
In 2021, a ''New York Times'' investigation revealed that Brookdale submitted wrong and manipulated data to the government, thus inflating ratings of the quality of care in Brookdale's facilities. Shortly thereafter, the state of California filed a lawsuit against Brookdale alleging that the company manipulated the federal government’s nursing-home ratings system.
Brookdale's headquarters remain in Tennessee, but a recent acquisition has made Milwaukee, Wisconsin their second largest office.
History
When Brookdale was established, it developed large upscale urban retirement communities in cities such as Chicago,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and Miami. The early communities replicated five-star hotels like the
Hyatt
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...
Hilton
Hilton or Hylton may refer to:
Companies
* Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc., a global hospitality company based in the United States that owns several hotel chains and subsidiary companies containing the Hilton name
** Hilton Hotels & Resorts, fla ...
hotels of the modern era.
From the late 1990s to mid-2000s, Brookdale developed more communities that resembled earlier models, but also reflected changing retirement trends. The new communities included Continuous Care Retirement Communities (CCRC), which house skilled nursing facilities, assisted living,
independent living
Independent living (IL), as seen by its advocates, is a philosophy, a way of looking at society and disability, and a worldwide movement of disabled people working for equal opportunities, self-determination, and self-respect. In the context o ...
, and memory care facilities.
By 2005, Brookdale had grown to approximately 90 standalone properties. During this time Fortress Investments acquired the recently bankrupt Alterra Corporation's 300 properties. Brookdale merged with the American Retirement Corporation (ARC Therapy) in July 2006. ARC operated approximately 130 properties. Fortress saw this as an opportunity to put Brookdale at the forefront of
senior living Senior living is a concept that encompasses a range of housing and lifestyle options for ageing persons adapted to the challenges of health issues associated with ageing, such as limited mobility and susceptibility to illness.
Common forms
Based on ...
, not just by sheer size but with the marrying of two of the longest-running and most successful companies in the industry. After the ARC merger, Brookdale was operating approximately 550 communities in 36 states.
In July 2014, Brookdale merged with Emeritus Senior Living and became the only national full-spectrum senior living company, with over 1,100 communities in 46 states and covering 80% of the U.S. population.
Controversy
In 2013, a Brookdale facility, Glenwood Gardens in
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
, became the focus of national media coverage when a staff member refused to give
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
, as requested by a 911 operator, to 87-year-old Lorraine Bayless, a resident. Lorraine died at Glenwood of a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
.
After Bayless's death, Brookdale cited a policy to reporters that allegedly prohibited staff members performing CPR on residents of its independent living facilities; however, the spokesman did not provide copies of the policy to reporters. Brookdale later reversed its public position, saying that the staff member had misinterpreted the
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
policy. Police closed the Glenwood investigation without filing any criminal charges. The Bayless family said it had no intention of suing Brookdale over Lorraine's death.
The state of California filed a lawsuit against Brookdale in March 2021, alleging that the company manipulated the federal government’s nursing-home ratings system. A New York Times investigation revealed that the rating system is flawed, allowing the opportunity for many nursing homes (including Brookdale) to submit manipulated data to the government, thus inflating ratings of the quality of care in their facilities.