According to court filings, the hospital first told her family that Adolphus had been found in the parking lot of a Dollar General down the road. Then, her brother was told she had been found in the facility’s backyard. Only after Adolphus’ family requested her medical records did the hospital admit the truth.

Today, American Healthcare Systems is one of the 10 largest for-profit hospital operators in the country, running 18 facilities in six states. It has expanded at a rip-roaring pace after being founded just six years ago, in a small office building sandwiched between a McDonald’s and a budget gym in a Los Angeles suburb. Vista was one of AHS’s first purchases.