Columbus, Ohio — Sam Frank Ray developed a pressure ulcer so severe it exposed his tailbone. According to a lawsuit filed by his family, staff at the Arbors at Sylvania left him in the same position through 33 separate eight-hour shifts. The wound became infected, and he died.
Since January 2024, at least 11 plaintiffs have filed wrongful death lawsuits against facilities in the Arbors at Ohio chain, according to court records reviewed by Signal Statewide. The chain operates 16 skilled nursing facilities across Ohio, all managed by Louisville-based Prestige Healthcare.
The Human Toll
Ray’s story is not isolated. Lucy Garcia, a resident at the nearby Arbors at Oregon, died in July 2024 from an infected bedsore that had progressed to sepsis, according to her family’s lawsuit. The suit alleged staff left her in soiled adult diapers, exposing the open wound to feces and bacteria.
The estates of Brenda McNeil, Sharon Kay Abner, Philip Rice, Nancy Altizer, and Gary Wade Conner have also filed wrongful death lawsuits against various Arbors facilities. Several cases have already settled privately after plaintiffs dropped their claims with prejudice.
Federal Scrutiny and Spotty Penalties
State inspectors working on behalf of CMS have faulted three Arbors facilities for contributing to patient deaths through medical errors. The Arbors at Milford paid a $35,000 fine after CMS found a nurse failed to notify physicians of a patient’s worsening diabetic condition. The facility received $6.2 million in Medicaid revenue that same year.
The Arbors at Stow received a $48,000 fine — later suspended — after regulators blamed staff for a patient’s “medication non-compliance” that led to her death. That facility collected $6.8 million in Medicaid reimbursements annually.
Since 2024, CMS has fined Arbors facilities 18 times totaling more than $648,000. During that period, the chain received $233 million in Medicaid payments from Ohio.
“Staffing is kind of the root of most nursing home problems,” said Will Eadie, an Ohio attorney who has filed multiple lawsuits against Arbors facilities. “You’re really talking about nurses and aides who might want to do well, but they are burned out, overworked, or there’s a bad culture.”
Arbors facilities average 2.9 out of 5 stars on CMS staffing measures — below the national average.
A Trip to the Zoo
Some incidents documented by state inspectors did not result in deaths but still raised serious concerns. In June 2025, the Arbors at Pomeroy organized a field trip to the Columbus Zoo for 13 residents.
As the heat index reached 90 degrees, residents spent six hours at the zoo. On the return trip, staff loaded them onto a bus that had not been cooled. One resident became unresponsive with a temperature of 105.7 degrees and was hospitalized for heat stroke. Another resident hit 104 degrees. They did not return to the facility until midnight.
A custodian told inspectors she was instructed by superiors to “only say nice things and not be negative” about the incident. The director of nursing reportedly re-wrote her statement “due to the things she had written.” CMS fined the facility $37,551.
Corporate Structure and Accountability
The corporate maze surrounding the Arbors chain complicates enforcement. Each facility operates under a separate LLC, with land owned by related entities and management contracted to Prestige Healthcare. The Ohio Department of Health considers violations on a facility-by-facility basis and does not factor in chain-wide patterns.
Prestige Healthcare spokesperson Bill Gray declined to comment on specific incidents, stating only: “The company’s position is no comment.”
The pattern of care at Arbors facilities highlights ongoing challenges facing regulators and families seeking accountability in an industry where corporate structures can diffuse responsibility, and penalties often represent fractions of facility revenue. For operators facing similar pressures, Ohio lawmakers recently approved $875 million in Medicaid relief — though that legislation included provisions barring future lawsuits over past underpayments.
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