Last June, an elderly stroke survivor residing at Chicago’s Lakeview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center fell to the floor while being transferred by mechanical lift from his bed to a shower chair. The fall broke his leg in two places. A single nurse’s aide had texted her coworkers three times seeking help before attempting the lift. None responded. The nurse — in a clear violation of a requirement that two aides conduct any high-risk transfer — went ahead on her own.

It wasn’t an isolated incident at the 178-bed facility. Since the beginning of 2021, federal regulators fined Lakeview Rehab, which is run by privately owned Infinity Healthcare Management, more than $250,000 for ten serious violations, according to the government’s Nursing Home Compare website. The facility earned just one out of five stars for quality, the lowest possible rating.

In response to the deteriorating conditions at nursing homes nationwide, regulators have proposed bare-minimum staffing standards. The facilities have cried poverty, claiming they can’t afford it. But in fact, researchers have found many of these private equity–owned operations, including Lakeview, are funneling funds — almost all of which come from Medicare and Medicaid — to pay exorbitant fees to their affiliated companies.