PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
BrightSpring Health Services
Includes BrightSpring, ResCare, PharMerica
disability care · Louisville, KY
- PE Firm
- KKR →
- Year Acquired
- 2019
KKR bought 600+ group homes for people with disabilities. Some of the most vulnerable residents suffered abuse, neglect, and death.
The PE Playbook
- KKR acquired BrightSpring for $1.3 billion in 2019, becoming the owner of more than 600 residential facilities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the country
- Despite worsening conditions, KKR focused on expanding the business while the CEO doubled his salary to $1.6 million — meanwhile, caretaker wages were kept below Walmart levels
- West Virginia ordered BrightSpring to stop accepting new residents and eventually shut down 20% of its homes in the state after officials found at least one preventable death caused by neglect
- In the seven states with the most for-profit group homes, KKR owns just 16% of the facilities but racked up 40% of all serious regulatory citations
Since the Acquisition
- An autistic resident choked to death eating unsupervised because the home was too short-staffed to monitor him — a caretaker called a supervisor instead of 911, and help came too late
- A 45-year-old woman was found restrained with her own bedding, unable to move or cry for help — she died from her injuries twelve days later
- Nurses and caretakers quit in droves as wages were slashed; some managers forced employees to work three-day shifts or threatened to have them arrested if they tried to leave
- Four U.S. Senators publicly condemned KKR for 'grossly substandard care and unsafe living conditions' in a formal letter to the firm
Sources
- Senators Blast KKR for Grossly Substandard Care in Group Homes — U.S. Senate HELP Committee(2022-08-04)
- Since KKR Bought BrightSpring, Some People With Disabilities Have Suffered — BuzzFeed News(2022-05-05)
- 11 Things You Need To Know About Our Investigation Into KKR and BrightSpring — BuzzFeed News(2022-05-05)