Former Attendo CEO linked to troubled care home chain under new investigation

A Finnish care home operator now facing scrutiny over neglect allegations is tied to Pertti Karjalainen, the former CEO of Attendo whose leadership coincided with a previous wave of care failures, an investigation by public broadcaster Yle reveals.

The operator, Yrjö ja Hanna Hoiva—a network of facilities owned by the Yrjö ja Hanna Foundation—has been named in recent reports detailing inadequate conditions in elderly care, including a case in Hämeenlinna where deficiencies were later claimed to be resolved. While the foundation presents itself as nonprofit, its care operations were restructured in 2023 under a newly formed holding company, OYH Group, where Karjalainen holds a 49.9% stake through an investment vehicle.

Karjalainen’s reemergence in the sector follows Attendo’s 2019 crisis, when regulatory closures and public outrage over neglect—including deaths linked to lapses in care—prompted leadership changes and financial losses. At the time, Attendo and peers like Esperi Care blamed underfunding by municipalities, though inspections traced failures to cost-cutting in staffing and oversight.

Yrjö ja Hanna Hoiva’s current CEO, Sari Laakso, previously held leadership roles at Attendo. She told Yle that issues at the Hämeenlinna facility were addressed immediately upon discovery, though documents obtained by Yle show persistent systemic problems across providers, both private and public.

Finland’s staffing ratios for elderly care—currently 0.6 workers per resident—remain below the levels briefly mandated after the 2019 scandal, despite an aging population. Wellbeing services counties, facing budget cuts, have further reduced funding allocations, leaving facilities struggling to meet even minimal standards. Police are now investigating multiple deaths in care homes this year, replacing the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) as the lead agency in the most serious cases.