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Home care agencies in New York and across the country are routinely denying chronically ill patients access to their services, according to a report by Kaiser Health News and NPR. In many instances, the home care agency will falsely state that Medicare does not cover home care for chronic illnesses. in order to find out […]
Nursing Home Lawsuits
As N.Y. Nursing Home Chain Prepares to Grow, Mistrust Remains
After reaching an agreement with the Attorney General, a New York nursing home chain is prepared to grow throughout the tri-state area. The Brooklyn retirement home chain, Allure Group, came under heavy criticism after purchasing a retirement home and assisted living facility for New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and then subsequently selling the properties to […]
Brooklyn’s Barclay Center Sued for Dangerous Seating Area
Brooklyn’s Barclay Center has seen at least four lawsuits concerning the seats in Brooklyn’s most famous sports arena. The seats in the so-called “nosebleed” section are usually the cheapest, and now, according to lawsuits, also the most dangerous. Apparently, the steps are so steep that people are prone to miss a step and come crashing into […]
HHS Inspector General: One in Four Cases of Elder Abuse Not Reported in Nursing Homes
The Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report stating that at least one in four instances of elder abuse or neglect are not reported. While horrific in scope, the results are not entirely surprising – other, smaller samples have found that 15 to 20 percent of elder abuse […]
Despite Four Dead Patients and Ten Malpractice Suits, Hospital Stands by Money-Making Surgeon
Despite a litany of problems surrounding Dr. Ira Kirschenbaum’s tenure as Head of Orthopedic Surgery at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, the Hospital has refused to sanction the surgeon. In fact, Kirschenbaum had already settled three malpractice suits before he was even recruited by the Bronx-Lebanon to lead their Orthopedic Surgery department – two more were still pending at the time […]
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 […]
Court Allows Family to Seek Punitive Damages from Rehabilitation Center Where Resident Went Missing
On the morning of September 12, 2009, a man (identified only as “Plaintiff”) went missing from Arms Acres, a rehabilitation center for alcoholics. The Plaintiff, in addition to being an alcoholic, also suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to the Court’s decision. Shortly before going missing the Plaintiff became “extremely disoriented, began having hallucinations” […]
After Death from Pressure Ulcers, Bronx Family Sues Nursing Home
On June 17, 2013, a patient at Barnabas Nursing Home passed away from complications arising from her pressure ulcers. Her family has sued the nursing home and hospital and believes that their family member received negligent treatment and that the hospital and nursing home should be held responsible for her death.
Nursing Home Resident Dies as Result of a Fall on Christmas Morning
On Christmas morning, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Woodbriar Health Care in Wilmington, Massachusetts improperly placed a resident in a mechanical lift when transferring her from bed to wheelchair, causing the resident to slip out of the lift and fall, breaking both her legs. The CNA attempted the transfer alone in violation of an […]
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 […]
Nursing Home Staff Arrested For Failing to Provide Care to 94 Year-Old Resident
Four nursing home staff members were arrested for neglecting to provide care to a 94-year old resident at Focus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Cooperstown, NY. The elderly female resident was diagnosed with a 4cm x 2cm pressure sore after allegedly being left in the same recliner for 41 hours over Memorial Day weekend this year. […]
Nursing Home Counselor Arrested for Alleged Sexual Abuse
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has announced the arrest of nursing home counselor, Jack Stanley, for alleged sexual abuse of 2 residents at the Northeast Center for Special Care. Both residents involved suffer from traumatic brain injuries. Also known as “Northeast, ” the facility specializes in the care of brain injury, spinal cord […]
Dementia Patient Chokes on Grilled Cheese Sandwich in NY Nursing Home
An Upstate New York Nursing Facility is being sued by the son of a 63 year-old patient, who died after choking on a grilled cheese sandwich. Maureen A. Bali, a resident at Huntington Living Center from May through December 2015, suffered from dementia. As part of Bali’s resident plan of care, she was fitted for […]
Nurses Caught on Video Abusing Nursing Home Resident in Queens, NY
On June 2, 2016, two nurses were indicted after being caught on video surveillance ignoring an injured patient at Peninsula Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The incident occurred in October 2015. A 51 year old disabled male patient fell in the hallway at the facility, injuring his head and jaw. Nurses Funmilola Taiwo and Esohe Agbonkpolor […]
Former Coney Island Hospital Physician Alarmed by Substandard Care at the Facility
A pediatrician recently recounted his experience at Coney Island Hospital as a resident to the New York Post. The MD reportedly witnessed terrible patient care, especially for children. The physician wished to remain anonymous as he discussed the negligence, substandard care and poor supervision he observed at the hospital during his three years of residency. The physician […]
Nursing Home Resident Dropped From Lift Breaks Both Legs and Dies Two Days Later
Woodbriar Health Center of Wilmington, Massachusetts faces up to $100,000 in fines following the death of a resident that resulted from a fall on Christmas day of 2015. The nursing home has been accused several times of poor care by the state and families of residents. An 83 year old resident, Mary Meuse, was dropped […]
Monroe County New York Nursing Homes as Repeat Offenders
Monroe County nursing homes have been cited for numerous deficiencies that often place residents at risk, yet they are still open for business; a Rochester nursing home remained open for two years after receiving chronic violations from the government. Democrat and Chronicle, a newspaper in Rochester, NY found that more than 1/3 of violations received […]
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 […]
Lawsuit Filed Following Newborn Death as Result of EMS Decisions / Medical Malpractice
The family of an infant child filed a lawsuit after the loss of their newborn in February of 2014 after emergency medical technicians and doctors made a series of medical errors, resulting in the infant’s death. On January 3, 2014, Sara Keenan breastfed her newborn baby Lana and put her down for a nap; an […]
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 […]
Nursing Home Residents Exploited on Social Media
Across the country, nursing home employees have been violating the rights of nursing home residents through social media, posting humiliating pictures and videos of residents against their will and without their knowledge. In 2012, a non-profit investigative newsroom found 35 instances of nursing home employees dehumanizing residents on social media networks; uploading pictures of residents […]
Group Home Workers Found Guilty of Endangering Residents
Two former Direct Service Assistant’s at Melville Estates, a state run group home for the mentally disabled, were convicted of Endangering the Welfare of an Incompetent or Physically Disabled Person. James P. Brown Jr. was found guilty of violently and aggressively punching a 53 year old developmentally disabled resident at a bench trial before Suffolk […]
Medford Multicare Center for Living Citations & Lawsuits
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 […]
Utica Nursing Home Nurse’s Aide Charged with Sexual Abuse of Elderly Resident
New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman recently announced that John Tamba, a 48 year old CNA from Utica, NY was indicted in October on nine counts of abusing a female patient. Tamba worked at the Focus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at Utica, located at 1445 Kemble St, Utica, NY, and is being held […]
Brooklyn Nursing Home Cited in Deficiency Report
Saints Joachim & Anne Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, a nursing home located in Brooklyn, NY, was cited in an October, 2013 certification survey issued by the Department of Health. Among the several deficiencies noted by the DOH was a failure to establish an infection control program at the facility. A nursing home must ensure that […]
Unsupervised Patient Dies While Eating at New York Nursing Home. Glengariff Health Care Fined over $22k.
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) fined Glengariff Health Care Center, a 262-bed facility located in Glen Cove, New York, $22,879 for numerous deficiencies that contributed to the death of a 65-year-old resident. The affected resident had suffered from a stroke and was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and dysphagia, a medical condition […]
Albany Nursing Home Fined $25K for Failing to Treat Patient’s Wound that Developed into Gangrene
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) fined the Teresian House Nursing Home, a 302-bed facility located in Albany, New York, $25,350 in November 2013 for failing to treat a patient’s open wound that developed into gangrene. The affected resident was originally diagnosed with a thyroid disorder, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and peripheral vascular […]
Nursing Home Resident Dies after Staff Member Fails to Administer CPR
An inspection report in July 2013 by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) revealed that a resident of Hornell Gardens, a 114-bed nursing facility located in Hornell, New York, died after a licensed practical nurse (LPN) failed to administer CPR after the resident was found without a pulse and was “gasping for air.” […]
Deceased Nursing Home Owner’s Estate Pays NY State Over $2M in Medicaid Fraud Case
The estate of Helen Sieger, the former deceased owner of the 400-bed Kingsbridge Heights Rehabilitation and Care Center in the Bronx, New York reached a $2.5 million settlement in June 2013 with the Attorney General’s office for defrauding Medicaid. According to the settlement, $1.2 million will go towards reimbursing Medicaid, and $1.3 million will go […]
Investigators: Rochester Home Health Agency Fraudulently Billed Medicaid for $2.5 Million
The New York State Attorney General’s office and Home Health Care of Rochester (HCR), which employs 600 people, reached a $2.5 million settlement in January 2014 after investigators from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) discovered that the healthcare agency fraudulently billed Medicaid over a period of four years. As part of the settlement, HCR […]
Syracuse Nursing home with Long History of Substandard Care to be Converted into Apartments
Rosewood Heights, a Syracuse nursing home that houses 242 beds in a six story building, is slated to be shut down and converted into an apartment building in 2014. In March 2012, the nursing home was placed on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s (CMS) Special Focus Facility (SFF) list for providing poor care […]
Long Island Nursing Home Aides Charged with Photographing and Videotaping Eleven Residents at Three Facilities
Two certified nurse aides (CNAs) were arrested and charged in May 2013 for taking pictures and videos of eleven nursing home residents at three separate nursing homes. David Rover, 25, and Thomas Mocera, 23, are both charged with Unlawful Surveillance and face up to four years in prison if convicted. The two CNAs took photographs […]
Long Island Nursing Home Workers Charged with Assault in Beating of Elderly Resident
A nurse and a personal care aide at Woodhaven Center in Port Jefferson, Long Island have been charged with assault and endangering the welfare of an elderly person. The charges stem from an investigation into the beating of an elderly resident of the home. The two women allegedly held the defenseless man down and beat […]
Queens Nursing Home Fined $12,000 by Department of Health for Medication Error that Resulting in Resident’s Death
The N.Y.S. Department of Health reported that it had fined Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehab, a Queens nursing home, twelve thousand dollars. The fine stems from an incident discovered by the DOH during an inspection in July, 2011. During the July inspection, investigators gave the facility the most severe rating in two […]
Fall Results In Fractured Hip: Brooklyn Nursing Home Cited for Actual Harm to Patient
After a survey conducted in February, 2013 at Norwegian Christian Home and Health Center, a Brooklyn, NY nursing home, the Department of Health issued a report finding actual harm to a resident. Actual harm is the second most severe rating grade that the DOH issues in its citations, surpassed only by Immediate Jeopardy. The Department […]
NYSDOH: Brooklyn Nursing Home Fails to Prevent Bedsores
On January 8, 2013, the Department of Health cited Bishop Henry B. Hucles Episcopal Nursing Home for numerous violations of health regulations. Among these was a violation of Title 42 section 483.25(c) of the Code of Federal Regulations, which deals with prevention and treatment of pressure sores. This section of the Code mandates that the […]
Closed Florida Nursing Home Had Been Opened by Convicted Felons
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune is reporting that Harmony Healthcare Nursing Home, which had its doors shut in 2011, was opened and operated by two men convicted of Medicaid fraud in New York in 1979. The nursing home was closed amid findings of widespread immediate jeopardy to its residents. An investigation conducted by the newspaper found that […]
Nursing Home Aide Arrested for Secretly Photographing Resident
In a press release dated March 8 of this year, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced the arrest of a Certified Nurse’s Aide from the Woodhaven Center in Port Jefferson, Long Island. The Suffolk County nursing home staffer was accused of taking a picture of the resident’s genitals without the resident’s permission. Having taken […]
Brooklyn Nursing Home Fails to Keep Drug Regimen Free from Unnecessary Drugs
Bushwick Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, a nursing home located in Brooklyn, NY, was cited by the Department of Health in a December, 2012 deficiency report for several violations of the Code of Federal Regulations. Among these failures was the facility’s duty to keep a resident’s drug regimen free from unnecessary drugs. In relevant excerpts […]
Brooklyn (NYC) Nursing Home Deficient in Two Areas of Medicine Distribution
Sea-Crest Health Care Center, a Brooklyn based nursing home, was cited by the Department of Health in March of this year for two areas of deficiency. Both of these areas of sub-standard care involved medicinal distribution. More specifically, the facility failed to provide drugs and biologicals, and failed to keep residents free from significant medical […]
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 […]
Scarsdale, NY Nursing Home Receives Deficiency From Department of Health For Medication Error
In February of this year, Sprain Brook Manor Nursing Home in Scarsdale, NY, was cited by the NYS Department of Health for deficiencies stemming from an investigation prompted by a family’s complaints. Among the deficiencies noted by the DOH in its survey was a failure to inform the resident and his or her family of […]
Smithtown Nursing Home Cited for Deficiencies by NYS Department of Health
Saint Catherine of Siena Nursing and Rehabilitation Care Center, located in Smithtown, NY, was cited for deficiencies in a Department of Health survey dated February 12, 2012. Two areas in particular for which the facility received substandard ratings involved medication errors and maintenance. According to federal regulations, a facility must ensure that it maintains a […]
Bronx Nursing Home Fined More Than $55,000
The Department of Health has fined Mosholu Parkway Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in the Bronx, NY over $55,000 for numerous violations, the most disturbing of which relates to an issue that has been discussed previously on this blog, the failure to keep the facility free of accident hazards. In this particular instance, a resident who […]
N.Y. Nursing Home Fall Attorney Report: Rockland Nursing Home Cited in May Deficiency Report
Northern Riverview Health Care Center in Haverstraw, NY was cited in a Department of Health Deficiency Survey dated May 11, 2011. The DOH cited the facility for numerous violations, including failing to ensure that the facility was free of accident hazards, and failure to develop and implement written policies and procedures that prohibit mistreatment and/or […]
Two Staten Island Nursing Home Nursing Staff Members Lose Licenses After Elder Abuse Incident
Two employees at a Staten Island long-term care facility, Lily Pond Nursing Home, recently lost their respective licenses after a 40 year-old resident was abused. Cynthia Ferry, a Certified Nurse Aide at the facility, was observed by an EMT striking the 40-year old resident in the head. Josefina Bernabe, a Licensed Practical Nurse, worked the […]
Two Ferncliff Nursing Home Aides Punished For Trying to Cover-up Fall
Two Certified Nurse Aides at Ferncliff Nursing Home Co. Inc., a Dutchess County, NY Nursing Home, were recently forced to surrender their C.N.A. certificates after a fall during a transfer at the facility. According to a Long-Term-Care Community Coalition report, Stephen Thomas, a C.N.A., transferred a 94-year old resident, who slipped and suffered a broken […]
Rockland County Nursing Home Fined $24,000 For Various Violations
Northern Riverview Health Care Center, Inc. in Rockland County, NY was fined $24,000 as a result of a Department of Health Certification Survey dated April 8, 2010. The survey noted no less than 14 deficiencies that contributed to the substantial fine. Among the shortcomings noted by the surveyors were failures with respect to comprehensive care […]
Bronx, NY Nursing Home Aides Lie about Elopement of Schizophrenic Patient
Three nurse’s aides at Beth Abraham Health Services in the Bronx were arrested after failing to notice the elopement of a 64 year old schizophrenic patient in a wheelchair, and then attempting to cover-up the incident. Although police found the man approximately six hours later at a friend’s home, the aides at Beth Abraham allegedly […]
Fieldston Lodge Care Center Cited in Department of Health Deficiency Report
A Department of Health (DOH) study regarding the 2008 elopement of a 59 year old woman at Fieldston Lodge Care Center in Riverdale, NY found the facility’s measures to prevent such wanderings lacking. The patient, identified in the report as “Resident # 1,” entered the facility in November, 2007 with diagnoses ranging from Hypertension to […]
