All we can say is, it is about time. The former owner of Skyline Healthcare (or Skyline Management), Joseph Schwartz, is finally going to trial on his “alleged” fraud scheme, although he did plead guilty.
He and his “team” walked away from leases on more than 100 nursing homes across the country with no food in the fridge and empty med carts. They basically handed the keys over to the states. It was not only shameful, but it was also criminal. Each state had to scramble, and the nursing home industry suffered its biggest black eye. Actually, two black eyes.
Skyline basically sucked as much cash out of the leased facilities as they could until it all collapsed. Not even a “sorry.” Although our guess is that if convicted he will only serve a few years, we hope the feds will lock the door and lose these keys. What we have wondered was who else knew what was going on? Both at the company and in the industry. After all, you can’t manage more than 100 SNFs from a small office above a pizza shop, can you? As they say about street crime, if you see something, say something. No one said anything.
