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State AG Files Suit Against Senior Living Center For Poor Care Of Residents

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- People living in nursing homes were left thirsty, hungry, dirty and unable to summon help to even go to the bathroom, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office Wednesday.

The suit is against Golden Gate National Senior Care, which operates homes under the name "Golden Living Centers."

Fourteen homes are named in the suit, including ones in Monroeville, Mount Lebanon and Clarion.

"It's pretty troubling stuff," said Jeffrey Johnson, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office. "People who have been left in diapers, in their own feces. People who haven't been turned appropriately in their beds, putting them at risk for bed sores."

The suit cites witnesses who are either family members of residents or people who used to work in the homes.

A former employee of the home in Mount Lebanon claims in the suit that some residents were left in dirty diapers or weren't given full baths.

The Attorney General's Office claims the company violated the Consumer Protection Law by not providing the basic services it advertised.

A family member of someone staying the Mount Lebanon home says she's surprised by the accusations but will keep a close watch now: "I'll be way more vigilant now, knowing this."

People answering the phone at the Golden Living Centers in Monroeville and Mount Lebanon told David Highfield someone would call back tomorrow concerning the claims in the lawsuit.

No one answered the phone at the company's headquarters in Texas.

This company also operates homes in Murrysville, Canonsburg, Waynesburg and Uniontown, but those homes not mentioned in the suit.

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