Charges Filed Against Care Enterprises Officials

Criminal charges were filed Tuesday in Los Angeles against four officials of Tustin-based Care Enterprises for allegedly providing substandard care at a skilled nursing home in Playa del Rey.

The action marks the second time in a week that Care or Care officials have been hit with misdemeanor charges. Los Angeles County prosecutors last week filed 89 charges involving operation of the Care West Palomar Nursing Center in Inglewood.

Named in Tuesday’s nine-count complaint were Lee Bangerter, 44, of Laguna Hills, Care’s chairman and chief executive officer, and his twin brother, Dee Bangerter, of Villa Park, the company’s chief operating officer.

Also charged were company president Richard Matros, 34, of Glendale and Martin Hipschman, 37, of Palms, who has served as administrator of Care’s Playa del Rey Nursing Center since last November.

All four men are scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 22 in Los Angeles Municipal Court. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to six months in jail and fined $2,500 for each of the nine counts.

Bill Izatt, vice president of marketing for Care Enterprises, said Monday that the company has not seen a copy of the charges and thus cannot provide “detailed comment.”

“Care Enterprises does, however, emphatically deny any criminal conduct by management” concerning the operation of the Playa del Rey and Inglewood facilities, he added, reading from a prepared statement.

The alleged violations of the California Health and Safety Code include failure to provide prescribed medication and treatment to patients, said Ruth Kwan, Los Angeles city deputy attorney. State inspectors also allege that patients were kept in filthy conditions.

Included in the charges filed Tuesday was the allegation that sores on one patient’s feet were found to be maggot-infested after he transferred out of the nursing home, where he had stayed three days last year, said City Atty. James K. Hahn. The man’s condition deteriorated while he stayed at the nursing home, and he later died, Hahn said. The charges filed Tuesday do not allege that Care’s treatment caused the man’s death, but “inspectors determined that the nursing staff failed to identify and assess his medical needs,” Hahn said.

Izatt said Care Enterprises is satisfied with the quality of services being provided at its Playa del Rey Nursing Center. He said there are 89 residents at the 99-bed home. “We think it is a well-run building,” he said.

But Care Enterprises last May closed the 99-bed Inglewood nursing home just before the state Department of Health Services suspended the company’s license to operate it.

Care, which operates 69 nursing homes in California, in March filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code.

United Press International contributed to this report.