For Immediate Release:    
Thursday, September 21, 2006 

For more information:    
Lissette Rivera, (215) 219-5987

Seniors, Home Caregivers and Community Leaders Hold Candlelight Vigil at Home of CEO

Group Demands Lee’s Industries Home Care Stop Using Taxpayer Money to Shortchange Senior Citizens

PHILADELPHIA - Fed up with a lack of quality care provided by Lee’s Industries Home Care, seniors, caregivers, and community leaders took their message straight to the company’s chief executive officer - during a demonstration Thursday, September 28 in North Wales where she resides.

Those who attended the candlelight vigil demanded that Lee’s Industries Home Care either fix the company’s problems or stop using taxpayer money to fund its unreliable care. 

“Lee’s Industries How d’you Dare,” chanted the group of seniors, caregivers, students and community leaders. “We Demand Quality Care!”

Lee’s Industries has failed to address the complaints filed by their tax-paying clients, including no-show appointments, high caregiver turnover, an inability to meet the care needs of its clients and inaccurate documentation. 

“Lee’s Industries Home Care is publicly funded yet is not accountable to the taxpayers because there is absolutely no oversight,” said Pedro Rodriguez, Director of the Action Alliance for Senior Citizens. “We are forced here today to demand that Nina Kinard stop cheating our seniors and address her company’s double-dealing.”

In a July report issued by the Home Care Accountability Project, a home care agency watch group, Lee’s Industries was found to have engaged in several fraudulent practices. Most notably, the report found, the company failed to pay more than $800,000 in back taxes and liens - enough money to provide senior citizens with 57,000 hours of care.  But the company did not appropriate the funding for that cause.

Additionally, the report alleges Lee’s Industries Home Care also shortchanged its workers.  The report included a copy of a caregiver’s pay stub who worked 120 hours in two weeks with no overtime pay.

“Because our pay is so low, there’s a lot of turnover,” said Tracy Bishop, former employee of Lee’s Industries Home Care. “This makes care less reliable and makes seniors struggle to find and keep caregivers who can meet their needs.”

Lee’s Industries includes several real estate ventures, home care agencies, extermination services and janitorial services.  Lee’s Industries takes advantage of any taxpayer funded programs offered through the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA).  PCA is funded primarily through the Pennsylvania Department of Aging.  Last year, Lee’s Industries gross revenue, not including income from rent, totaled close to $4.1 million dollars.

The candlelight vigil was part of the Home Care Accountability Project’s ongoing campaign to hold home care agencies accountable and improve the quality of care.