California Attorney General Rob Bonta today conditionally approved the sale of four continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) located in Northern and Southern California. The CCRCs in Auburn, Long Beach, Placerville, and Sacramento are currently owned by Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF), a nonprofit public benefit corporation. The conditional approval will allow them to come under the ownership of Pacifica Companies LLC (Pacifica). Under California law, any transaction involving the sale or transfer of control of a healthcare facility owned by a nonprofit corporation must secure the approval of the Attorney General. The conditions of Attorney General Bonta’s approval preserve access to high-quality care and services for the residents of these communities.
“When reviewing healthcare transactions, the safety of all Californians remains our top priority,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Thanks to the strong conditions we imposed today, hundreds of residents of these four communities can safely continue living and receiving care in the place they call home. At the California Department of Justice, we remain committed to placing vulnerable communities at the forefront of our work and ensuring continuous, uninterrupted quality care for residents across the state.”
The four CCRCs are the Auburn Ravine Terrace facility, which is located in Auburn and includes a 59 licensed-bed skilled nursing facility (SNF); the Bixby Knolls Towers facility, which is located in Long Beach and includes a 99 licensed-bed SNF; the Gold Country Retirement Center facility, which is located in Placerville and includes a 68 licensed-bed SNF; and Pioneer House, which is located in Sacramento and includes a 49 licensed-bed SNF.
The expert report identified safety issues at other Pacifica facilities. Between 2017 and 2022, Pacifica’s rate of citations was significantly higher than the average rate for all RCFEs in California.
Therefore, as part of his conditional approval, Attorney General Bonta has imposed specific conditions for the proposed $48.5 million sale, which will require Pacifica to, among other things:
- Appoint a monitor to ensure resident safety;
- Report semi-annually on safety;
- Preserve access to skilled nursing facility services for the community;
- Consult with a Community Advisory Board at each facility on a quarterly basis;
- Pay off debt, including existing bond debt and existing lines of credit; and
- Honor residents’ contracts.
The California Department of Justice’s Healthcare Rights and Access Section (HRA) works proactively to increase and protect the affordability, accessibility, and quality of healthcare in California. HRA’s attorneys monitor and contribute to various areas of the Attorney General’s healthcare work, including nonprofit healthcare transactions; consumer rights; anticompetitive consolidation in the healthcare market; anticompetitive drug pricing; privacy issues; civil rights, such as reproductive rights and LGBTQ healthcare-related rights; and public health work on tobacco, e-cigarettes, and other products.