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Volare Health, the Kentucky-based company that purchased eleven Oregon nursing homes last year, is being sued for picking and choosing residents in an alleged violation of federal anti-discrimination law.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Portland on Monday on behalf of Karla Hunt, who was fired by Volare in August after over 17 years working for one of its new acquisitions, the 80-bed French Prairie Nursing and Rehabilitation Center based in Woodburn.
Hunt, who was in charge of admissions to the facility, says a new administrator brought in by Volare overruled her decision to admit a patient from Salem Hospital. “[The new administrator] was unwilling to approve the admission of ‘a 56-year-old man with a mental health diagnosis,’ for whom the facility would be required to provide care ‘for the next 30 years,’” the lawsuit claims. Hunt alleges she repeatedly pushed back, noting that the administrator was potentially violating the Fair Housing Act, and was fired.
Hunt is now seeking compensation under state whistleblower protection laws.
As WW has previously reported, state payments to nursing homes have skyrocketed in recent years amidst a statewide lack of long-term care options for elderly people currently stuck in community hospital beds. Volare did not respond to a request for comment.