Seniors Suffer at the Hands of Shady Nursing Home Owner, But Don’t Expect Claire to Care …
A mind-blowing report in the Kansas City Star on Sunday revealed that Claire McCaskill has deep ties to shady nursing home owner Richard DeStefane, whose nursing home companies have recently landed in hot water for years of elder abuse.
One of DeStefane’s nursing home companies, Reliant Care Group, is paying more than $8 million to the federal government after an investigation showed that the company knowingly submitted false Medicare claims for more than six years. The report also revealed horrifying details about conditions in DeStefane’s nursing homes, including urine and feces soaked beds and furniture, failure to protect residents from abuse, and allegations of neglect that led to at least three gruesome deaths.
As for McCaskill’s part, her connections to DeStefane run deep and wide. McCaskill’s husband, Joe Shepard, has been in business with DeStefane for decades. In fact, McCaskill’s husband previously served as the CEO of Reliant and also owned interests in many of DeStefane’s nursing home properties. Conveniently, Shepard cut ties with these shady nursing home properties after he married McCaskill, but the relationship between McCaskill’s family and DeStefane is just as strong today as it ever was. Shepard and DeStefane are still partners in other ventures, and they also co-own a vacation property in Lake of the Ozarks, where McCaskill frequently vacations.
Click HERE to read the full report.
“This report is the latest example of McCaskill’s tried-and-true habit of saying one thing and doing another,” said Keelie Broom, Communications Director for the Missouri Republican Party. “McCaskill touts herself as a watchdog for seniors, yet her family keeps close personal and professional ties to a shady nursing home owner who has abused and neglected the very elders she says she protects,” Broom continued. “McCaskill clearly cares more about money and luxurious vacations than protecting vulnerable Missourians.”