Senate candidate Eric Hovde's bank financed nursing homes facing abuse accusations

A bank run by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde lent millions of dollars to nursing homes that have been accused of neglect and abuse.

Hovde has been the CEO of Sunwest Bank since 2015. He launched his campaign challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin earlier this year.

Since 2014, Sunwest Bank has touted lending to senior living facilities as one of its specialties. A now-deleted webpage stated that the bank understood the complexities of the senior housing market and offered financial products designed to address those needs.

“Whether you need a construction loan or funds to renovate your facility, having the right partner on your side to support you and provide you with the best resources for your business is an important part of your success,” the page stated. “We tailor our products and services to the unique demands of the seniors housing industry, helping you maximize the value of your facility.”

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Sunwest Bank loaned over $4 million in 2019 to Marin Terrace, an assisted living facility in Mill Valley, CA. The 49-bed facility claims to specialize in residential care for elderly individuals.

During the term of the loan, Marin Terrace received several citations from the California Department of Social Services for providing inadequate care. In 2023, it was alleged that one resident was not properly bathed and denied a change of clothes for up to a week. On multiple occasions, residents were reportedly found lying on the floor.

In November 2023, a Marin Terrace hospice resident was found unconscious. An investigation determined that the resident had been injured weeks earlier when a damaged sink fell on them. The incident with the sink was not reported and the resident did not receive proper medical care as a result.

This led to a rapid decline in health.

Marin Terrace was cited again in 2024 for failing to provide adequate meals to residents.

In March 2018, Sunwest Bank loaned more than $2.2 million to the Ventura Grand Chateau, an assisted living facility in Ventura, CA. A few months later, the Ventura Grand Chateau was cited by the California Department of Social Services for failing to report a scabies outbreak. While scabies is not life threatening, it can cause serious complications if not treated, especially for the elderly.

In January 2020, the Ventura Grand Chateau received another citation after an unsupervised resident was allowed to wander away from the facility. The same resident fled the facility again a few weeks later.

This is not the first time Hovde’s work in the senior care sector has been scrutinized.

In April, the New York Times reported that the Claremont Hacienda, an assisted living facility in California owned by Sunwest Bank, is facing a lawsuit for wrongful death and elder abuse. The lawsuit was filed by a woman who claims her 94-year-old mother, a resident of the facility in 2022, suffered multiple falls, was neglected, and eventually died due to poor care. The trial is set for March 2025.

A Hovde campaign spokesperson told the New York Times that the lawsuit was meritless and suggested that the plaintiff, who once made a $5 donation to a Democratic organization, filed the suit for political purposes.

It has since been reported that the Claremont Hacienda received several citations from the state of California. The facility received five citations in 2023 for having improperly trained staff. In 2022, the facility was cited for failing to keep an injury incident log.

According to Claremont Hacienda employees, in August 2022 a dementia patient escaped the facility.  The same resident escaped again the following month. Neither incident was reported to the state or adequately documented. 

Hovde has touted Sunwest Bank’s work with assisted living facilities as an asset on the campaign trail. A Morning Consult poll from Sept. 8 showed Baldwin leaving Hovde 49% to 43%.