The New York Times is at it again. Crack reporter Chuck Duhigg, who appears to get all his information from the SEIU and trial lawyers, seems to have a little trouble with numbers when reporting on his own “reporting.” In today’s story in the Times, he refers to his last story, which he calls a report, where private investment firms had “bought thousands of nursing homes.” Well, in his September story he listed those private investment firms, including GE which is not a “private investment firm,” and their acquisitions, and lo and behold, the total was less than 1,300 facilities (including the GE deal, but excluding the Manor Care deal which hasn’t closed), not the “thousands” that Chuck “reported.” He probably wanted to exaggerate the facts for his union friends. And speaking of unions, the Times story today includes a picture of SEIU union organizers protesting at The Carlyle Group’s headquarters last month. If you have a copy of the article, please note that all the signs held by the ”protesters” say ”Put Ohio’s Seniors Above Caryle Profits.” They can’t even spell Carlyle right (the missing “L”). And the reporter’s buddy, Andy Stern, head of the SEIU, is quoted as saying “We’ve spent the last five years trying to improve long-term care for working Americans.” Oh, come on! The Times should be embarrassed to have that quote in their paper, since the SEIU is all about the SEIU and nothing about care. Have you ever tried to fire an SEIU member in a unionized nursing home for being negligent in caring for a resident? It would be easier to move a mountain, and it would take as long. Chuck also had a quote from one of the many lawyers “who specialize in suing nursing homes.” Does he ask why there is such a thing as a lawyer with that specialty? No (silly me).
Despite the pictures of the SEIU protesters, the story was supposedly about potential Congressional hearings into private investment firms buying nursing homes. If the phone call we received from two Senate staffers working on background information for the hearings is any indication of where things are heading, watch out. One of the two has already made up her mind (guilty before any charges have been made and any research has been done), with language that was a bit unsettling (even to me). At least the other staffer was objective. So while Chuck Duhigg pats himself on the back for stirring up a Congressional inquest on behalf of his friends in the SEIU and trial lawyers association, nursing home providers will still have to go to work every day taking care of the elderly in their facilities on meager Medicaid budgets. If the SEIU is really concerned about patient care, they should spend their time lobbying Congress and states for higher Medicaid rates. Now, isn’t that a novel idea.
