Beverly Enterprises Inc

The state of California has notified Beverly Enterprises Inc. that it is investigating possible criminal charges against the company based on civil citations issued between 1998 and 2001 related to patient care. In its quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Beverly said it can't immediately assess the nature or significance of any charges that might be filed.

Beverly Enterprises Inc., the largest operator of skilled-care nursing homes in the U.S., agreed to sell 49 skilled nursing facilities and four assisted living centers in Florida for $165 million in cash to pay down debt. NMC of Florida, an affiliate of Vantage Medical Inc. and Formation Capital, will buy the facilities and agreed to terms for senior debt financing with UBS Warburg and Heller Healthcare, Beverly said in a statement. The sale is expected to be complete by the fourth quarter.

Beverly Enterprises Inc., the largest nursing home operator in the U.S., agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle charges of racial harassment at one of its nursing homes. Nine workers at its Bridgeton Nursing Center near St. Louis accused the administrator of "a campaign of flagrant racial harassment" against black workers during 1993 and 1994, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed a federal suit in September 1998 on the workers' behalf.

Beverly Enterprises Inc., the nation's largest nursing home company, said its president and chief operating officer has resigned, effective immediately. The company gave no reason for Boyd W. Hendrickson's resignation in its news release. Earlier this month the company reported a 63% drop in earnings for its third quarter, blaming lower Medicare reimbursements and rising labor costs.

Beverly Enterprises Inc. said it will reimburse the government $170 million and pay a $5-million fine in a tentative settlement of Medicare fraud charges. The nation's largest nursing home operator said it will take a second-quarter pretax charge of $199 million to cover the cost of the settlement. The payment would be the largest ever by a nursing home company over alleged Medicare fraud.

Beverly Enterprises Inc. said it will reimburse the government $170 million and pay a $5-million fine in a tentative settlement of Medicare fraud charges. The nation's largest nursing home operator said it will take a second-quarter pretax charge of $199 million to cover the cost of the settlement. The payment would be the largest ever by a nursing home company over alleged Medicare fraud.

Citing a widespread pattern of unfair labor practices, the National Labor Relations Board ordered a national nursing home operator to stop intimidating workers who seek to join unions. The company called the decision "fundamentally flawed." In a decision consolidating more than 100 cases against Beverly Enterprises Inc., the NLRB found that the extent and severity of the violations of workers' rights called for a corporate-wide order against the company.

Beverly Enterprises Inc., the nation's largest nursing home operator, said it is the subject of a federal probe into whether it improperly billed Medicare. The announcement sent its shares down $5.19 to close at $9.44, after earlier hitting a 52-week low of $8.44, on the NYSE. The company said the Justice Department and the office of the inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department are conducting the investigation.

Beverly Enterprises Inc. has persuaded a California state court judge to slash a $95.1-million jury award to a patient injured in one of the company's nursing homes by 97%, citing the award as excessive. Superior Court Judge James Kleaver in Yreka chopped the total award to Reba Gregory to $3.1 million after finding jurors miscalculated actual damages stemming from her injuries. Kleaver also concluded that the punitive damage award against Beverly, a Fort Smith, Ark.

Bergen Brunswig Corp. said Wednesday that it has extended for five years its current supply agreement with Beverly Enterprises' Pharmacy Corp. of America unit. Bergen Brunswig said it expects the agreement to generate more than $1.5 billion in revenue during the life of the contract. On Tuesday, Bergen said it signed a five-year agreement to supply drugs to a St. Louis hospital organization in a deal expected to bring in about $300 million in revenue.