FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 21, 2007 

CONTACT: Julie Eisenhardt, 202-330-3164

As Carlyle closes the deal to buy Manor Care nursing homes…

Carlyle Must Solve Problems in Manor Care Homes

The Carlyle Group Still Needs Licenses; Must Fix Poor Staffing, High Deficiencies

WASHINGTON, DC – Now that the Carlyle Group owns Manor Care, it owns its problems, too. After months of contentious debate over the quality of care at Manor Care homes and whether the Carlyle Group is fit to take care of fragile seniors, it is now time for Carlyle to step up and provide the quality care it promised. To bring Manor Care’s homes up to standards and expert recommendations, this means increasing staffing and addressing deficiencies from day one.

Though Carlyle has announced the deal closing, at least seven states have yet to transfer licenses as part of the deal, according to the latest information available to SEIU. SEIU encourages those states to continue their close examinations of the deal and the impacts this deal could have on the fragile seniors in Manor Care homes.

“Carlyle has to take responsibility for what happens at Manor Care,” said Stephen Lerner of the SEIU. “They must act now to fix Manor Care and protect its fragile residents.”

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin have held hearings related to this deal and private equity buyouts of nursing homes. Advocates, regulators, and lawmakers alike have sounded the alarm about the effect that the purely profit-driven private equity industry could have on fragile nursing home residents.