Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, and Senator Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, are part of a 10-person ownership group for the Acadia St. Landry Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (“Acadia”) in Church Point, Louisiana. Senator Hensgens is also the administrator of the nursing home, and two other members of his family are also part of the ownership group, according to state business records.
Former Acadia nursing home resident Cynthia Stewart’s children filed a lawsuit and medical malpractice claim against Acadia in April 2024. Stewart was 74 years old when she died after developing a severe bed sore in November 2023 while she was a resident of Acadia, where she had been living for nearly 15 months. Stewart’s family alleges in their lawsuit that Stewart’s bed sore, which had grown to where her bone was exposed, was not discovered until she was transferred from Acadia to another nursing home. She developed sepsis from her wound and had to be transferred to the hospital immediately after she arrived at the other nursing home. The lawsuit alleges that Acadia intentionally understaffed the nursing home to earn a higher profit.
On April 30, 2025, the Louisiana Senate voted 26-11 in favor of Senate Bill 134, with both Henry and Hensgens voting in favor of the bill. The proposed legislation would close a loophole whereby nursing home management companies may not have benefited from Louisiana’s cap on damages in the medical malpractice cases, which applies to nursing homes, in the amount of $500,000 (the first $100,000 in damages are paid by the nursing home, and the balance is paid by a state fund). Senate Bill 134 makes changes to definitions in the Louisiana medical malpractice act to make clear that management companies for health care providers, including nursing homes and hospitals, are included in the protection provided by the cap on damages.
Henry and Hensgens stated that they saw no conflict or other problem in voting in favor of Senate Bill 134 because Acadia is not run by a management company. AARP Louisiana, the state’s largest advocacy organization for seniors, opposes the bill, saying it would put more elderly people at risk for abuse: “We’ve always maintained that our legislators should put their constituents ahead of any financial interests related to the outcome of the bill. If the supporters of this bill are successful, it means there will be a complete lack of due process for abuse and neglect due to perpetually poor and unsafe levels of basic care for our most vulnerable seniors.”
Stewart’s son had testified before a legislative committee the week before Senate Bill 134 passed: “The question that I have for you is: How difficult is it to turn a patient every two hours? Apparently, it’s really hard. So hard that whenever I visited, I had to go search for employees to come and turn my mother. I had to bring cash with me every time I went to give money to [staff members to] come and turn my mother. I was there. I went to that place. I visited her, knowing the fear that she was in. I went. But the message here tonight is, you can’t just go. You got to pull back sheets. You got to turn your mother.”
If you or a loved one suffered injuries (or worse) while a resident of a nursing home in Louisiana or in another U.S. state due to nursing home neglect, nursing home negligence, nursing home abuse, nursing home under-staffing, nursing home bed sore, or the nursing home failing to properly care for a vulnerable adult, you should promptly find a nursing home claim lawyer in Louisiana or in your state who may investigate your nursing home claim for you and file a nursing home claim on your behalf or behalf of your loved one, if appropriate.
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