Nursing homes are over-diagnosing patients with schizophrenia in order to conceal the high rates at which they’re prescribing antipsychotic medications, according to a recent report by the New York Times. Schizophrenia diagnoses among nursing home residents have “soared” as much as 70% since the federal government started making public disclosures of antipsychotic drug prescriptions in […]
Falsifying Records
Westchester Doctor Convicted for Stealing 540k from 97-year-old
A Westchester doctor was convicted of stealing over half-a-million dollars from an elderly woman. According to LoHud.com, physician Peter Corines of Eastchester stole the massive sums from a 97-year-old woman over just a two-week period in November 2017. The jury convicted the disgraced doctor of three felonies stemming from the stolen money and stolen identity […]
Criticism Grows Over New York Department of Health’s “Oversight” of Nursing Homes
Only two weeks after putting a Buffalo nursing home under conservatorship, the New York Department of Health announced that Emerald North and Emerald South Nursing and Rehabilitation Center will be closing their doors. The closure follows a long line of missteps and scandals by the formerly for-profit nursing homes, according to The Buffalo News. In […]
Study: Eschewing Hospice, Nursing Homes Increasingly Send Dying Residents to Costly Rehab
Nursing home residents nearing the end of their lives are increasingly being sent to rehabilitation therapy for their final weeks of life. According to a new study published in the Journal of American Medical Directors Association, senior citizens at for-profit nursing homes are twice as likely to spend their last days at a rehabilitation center […]
NY Attorney General: Massive Scheme to Defraud Medicaid and Medicare Harmed Patients
The Attorney General’s Office in New York announced the indictment of two Brooklyn men for running a massive scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid recipients from healthcare clinics in the Bronx and Manhattan. According to the Attorney General, Tea Kaganovich and Ramazi Mitiashvili, operated three separate companies, Sophisticated Imaging, Inc., East Coast Diagnosists and East […]
New York AG: Nurse Failed to Administer Medication at Putnam Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has charged a Pawling nurse with failing to administer medication to three residents at Putnam Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Brewster, New York. Further, not only did the nurse, Stacey McAdams, fail to administer the necessary medication to the elderly residents at the nursing home, she also falsified medical records […]
Trump Administration Moves to Limit Nursing Home Resident’s Access to Court System
As part of President Trump’s promise to roll-back federal regulations, the Trump administration has announced its intention to scrap a federal rule prohibiting nursing homes from requiring their residents to pursue legal claims through arbitration. In the simplest terms, arbitration is a catch-all term for a dispute-resolution that, while legally binding, does not utilize the […]
Lacking Effective Oversight, Nursing Homes Fail Many Patients
With toothless regulations and ineffective oversight, many nursing homes are still failing the neediest patients. With its budget for overseeing nursing homes slashed in half, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has failed to identify failing nursing homes and keep them accountable. As a consequence, some nursing homes are choosing to accept the […]
New York Attorney General: Woman Stole Nursing Home Patients’ Identities, Credit Cards
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that Channel Francis had been indicted for five felonies relating to allegations that she assumed the identities of three nursing home patients and illegally used their credit cards. Schneiderman alleges that Francis obtained the information from residents of the Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation in […]
Compensation for Hospice CEO’s Soars and One Owner Games the Medicare System
Long-Term Care Facilities are becoming a more lucrative business in America as the country’s CEO’s compensation continue their upward trend. In 2016, the average salary for CEO’s jumped to $465,875 according to a report by The Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service. Compared to an average salary of $441,604 in 2015, this represents a 5.4 percent […]
Nursing Home Staffer Charged with Multiple Felonies after Stealing the Identities of Nursing Home Residents
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced that Channel Francis had been indicted for five felonies relating to allegations that she assumed the identities of three nursing home patients and illegally used their credit cards. Schneiderman charges that Francis obtained the information from residents of the Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation in Queens, […]
Aide Pleads Guilty After Assaulting an Elderly Nursing Home Resident
Samantha Grover, a Certified Nurse Aid, pled guilty to a felony for punching an 87-year-old man in the face and pushing him onto the ground. On October 18, 2016, the judge sentenced Grover to weekends in jail for four months, followed by five years of probation. In addition, her nurse aide license has been revoked. […]
Six Individuals Arrested for Stealing from Nursing Home Residents
On October 18, 2016, six individuals were arrested in New York for exploiting the financial vulnerability of nursing home residents; defendants are from Bronx, New York, Queens and Suffolk Counties. The five New York City defendants stole personal identity information from residents in order to secure cash or credit they were not entitled to; and […]
Cortland Nursing Home Aide Pleads Guilty to Stealing Resident’s Credit Card
A Nursing Home Aide in Cortland, NY has pleaded guilty to stealing a credit card from one of the patients under her care. Hope Pearson, a Certified Nurse Aide at the Crown Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on Kellogg Road in Cortland, pleaded guilty to criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, a […]
NY Nursing Home Attorney Report: The Cover-up is Worse Than the Crime (Usually)
On January 4, 2016 Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced several guilty pleas in connection with allegations against Mohawk Valley Health Care Center (MVNH) for falsifying business records and covering up nursing home resident abuse and neglect. In a separate civil settlement, MVNH Associates, LLC also agreed to pay a $1,000,000 fine to Medicaid for […]
Rochester Nurse Convicted of Falsifying Medical Records After Failing to Provide Blood Thinner
A Registered Nurse (RN) at St. Ann’s Community Home in Rochester, New York recently entered a plea of guilty in a criminal court case involving neglect of an elderly resident. RN Christine Deisenroth was prosecuted by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the New York State Attorney General’s Office. AG Eric T. Schneiderman charged the […]
Beechwood Homes in Amherst, New York Cited for 56 Violations
Two employees at Beechwood Homes, an Amherst, NY nursing home, were recently convicted for crimes committed while they were supposed to be caring for residents. Kimberly Fay, a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), was convicted for stealing hydrocone. Ms. Fay falsely documented discarding tablets of hydrocone in part of a residents’ chart. Instead of discarding the narcotics, she […]
N.Y. Nursing Home Workers Convicted Of Crimes After Resident Death And Attempted Cover-Up
An investigation conducted by Attorney General Schneiderman’s office resulted in the arrest of nine nurses in connection with the death and attempted cover up of the death of Aurelia Rios, a 72 year old nursing home resident at Medford Multicare Center for Living in 2012. A dual-jury trial took place in July 2015 in Suffolk County Court. […]
Nurse Pleads Guilty to Obtaining Narcotics Through Fraudulent Prescriptions
Linda Masse, a Licensed Practical Nurse, pled guilty in Schenectady County Court to one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a Class D Felony, with a sentence of felony drug court. Masse also agreed to surrender her nurse practitioners license. Linda Masse was a licensed practical nurse at Women’s […]
Former Nursing Home Business Manager Sentenced to Three Years’ Probation for Stealing $18K from Residents’ Accounts
The Honorable Gerald P. Sharlow of the Massena Village Court sentenced Wendy Vice, the former business manager at the Highland Nursing Home in Massena, New York to three years’ probation in March 2014 for stealing $18,000 from residents’ accounts. Vice will also be required to attend counseling for a gambling problem as part of her […]
Health Care Agency Agrees to Repay Millions to Medicaid for Enrolling Ineligible Patients in Program
VNSNY Choice, a division of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, agreed in October 2013 in principle to pay back Medicaid $33.6 million for enrolling patients into its program who were ineligible. VNSNY Choice is New York’s largest managed long-term care agency. According to New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, the settlement […]
Charges in Westchester Nursing Home Case Upgraded to Manslaughter
In March, we wrote about the arrest of two Certified Nurse Aides from Tarrytown Hall Center after an incident in February 2012. Going against protocol, one of the aides, Maureen Flowers, attempted to lift the elderly resident from her wheelchair without the assistance of another staff member. Flowers dropped the resident, resulting in a fractured […]
Aides at Tarrytown Hall Care Center Arrested: Charged With Endangering the Welfare of a Vulnerable Elderly Person
In an October 24, 2012 press release, New York State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, announced the arrests of two Certified Nurse Aides (“C.N.A.) at Tarrytown Hall Care Center. The aides, Maureen Flowers and Donna Pagan, allegedly caused the death of an elderly resident by failing to provide an appropriate transfer and covering up the crime. […]
Nurse At Farmingdale Nursing Home Sentenced To Probation For Falsifying Chart After Fall
Registered Nurse, Kathleen Kennedy, an employee at Daleview Care Center in Farmingdale, New York was recently sentenced to five years probation after falsifying records in a resident’s nursing home chart. Nurse Kennedy reportedly failed to properly assess a resident (with a history of falls who had previously suffered a fractured hip) after a fall, failed […]
New York Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Report: Recent MCFU Enforcement Actions Involving Nursing Home Abuse
Below please find a brief summary of various enforcement actions taken against New York nursing home personnel from 12/15/11 to 3/15/12 by the NYS Office of the Medicaid Inspector General. Last December two Registered Nurses at Glen Island Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in New Rochelle, NY were indicted by the Medicaid Fraud Unit. Marlon […]
