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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 […]
Nursing Home Violations
Nursing Aid Arrested for Causing Injury to Resident and Trying to Cover it up
Certified Nurse Assistant, Fiona Jennings, was arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of a nursing home resident at Schuyler Ridge Residential Healthcare. The resident was a 74 year old woman prone to falls due to her recent knee fracture. Jennings failed to properly care for the resident resulting in bruising and swelling to her […]
Elder-against-Elder Abuse in Nursing Homes
When we discuss civil liability that can arise from care of elders in a nursing home, we typically describe such negligence as inadequate living conditions, negligent nurses and orderlies, ignorance of medical needs, even physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. Often, it’s exactly this kind of behavior from nursing home owners and employees that leads to […]
Long Island Nursing Home Fined After Resident Chokes to Death
Woodhaven Nursing Home, located in Suffolk County, was fined $21,937.50 by the Department of Health after an unsupervised resident choked on a sandwich in December, 2013. The resident was allowed to eat unsupervised despite being a known choking risk due to underlying conditions including dysphagia and impaired cognition. The nursing home had also implemented an […]
Two Certified Nurse’s Aides at the Terrace View Long Term Care Facility in Buffalo Charged with Abuse and Neglect
In September the NYS Attorney General’s office announced that two certified nurse’s aides at the Erie County Medical Center Skilled Nursing Facility in Buffalo, which has recently changed its name to the Terrace View Long Term Care Facility, have been charged with neglecting an elderly resident of the facility. Donna Laury and Nakeia Green were […]
Discussing the Legality of Nursing Home Surveillance
It is difficult to ignore the continuous flow of headlines regarding nursing home abuse. It has become a prevalent issue across the U.S. However, imagine the number of cases that go unreported. Many times incidents of abuse and neglect are brought to light because of video surveillance. We have seen an increase in the number […]
Attorney General Reaches $2.2M Settlement with New Rochelle Nursing Home after Fraudulent Billing
Eric T. Schneiderman, New York State Attorney General, reached a settlement in August with Glen Island Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, a Westchester County nursing home, after allegations arose that the facility defrauded Medicaid. The fraudulent billing stemmed from services that in some cases were actually performed by the nursing home, but at inflated prices. […]
Office Worker Stole Over $45K from Nursing Home Residents
Johnna Scanlon-Howland, a former office worker at the Sunrise Nursing Home, a facility located in Oswego, New York, was convicted in July 2013 of stealing $45,363 from the resident trust account at the nursing home. Investigators from the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) stated that Scanlon-Howland falsified business records to make unauthorized withdrawals from […]
Study: NY Nursing Homes Failed to Meet Federal Goal to Reduce Use of Antipsychotics
The Long Term Care Community Coalition (LTCCC), an advocacy group that promotes the improvement of nursing home care, released a report in April 2014 about the use of antipsychotic medications in New York nursing facilities. The study, titled “Antipsychotic Drug Use in NY State Nursing Homes: An Assessment of New York’s Progress in the National […]
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 […]
Nursing Home Fined $5K after Unsupervised Alzheimer’s Patient Chokes to Death
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) fined the Loretto Health & Rehabilitation Center, a 585-bed facility located in Syracuse, New York, $5,000 after an unsupervised Alzheimer’s patient choked to death. According to the DOH report about the incident, the resident was admitted into the facility on July 16, 2012 after she underwent hip-repair […]
Nursing Facility Fined Over $6K for Multiple and Chronic Deficiencies that Placed Residents in Immediate Jeopardy
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) fined the Westgate Nursing Home, a 124-bed facility located in Rochester, New York, $6,338 for numerous deficiencies that placed many residents in immediate jeopardy. Some deficiencies were repeat violations that the facility was cited for during previous inspections. In June 2013, a DOH report revealed that the […]
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.” […]
DOH Officials: Nursing Home Failed to Take Appropriate Action against Employee who Allegedly Stole Patients’ Medications
In November 2013, the NYS DOH cited Rosewood Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, an 80-bed nursing home located in Rensselaer, New York, for failing to take appropriate actions against a licensed practical nurse who may have diverted narcotics from patients for her own personal use. The investigation concluded that the problem was “widespread” and place residents […]
Long Island Nursing Home Receives Numerous Citations for Failing to Identify Patients with Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders
Per a recent New York State Department of Health (DOH) survey, Avalon Gardens Rehabilitation & Health Center, a 353-bed Smithtown, Long Island nursing home facility, failed to have a proper system in place to quickly determine if a patient had a Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) in place. The DOH stated that the situation was widespread and placed […]
Highpointe on Michigan Health Care Facility Citations & Lawsuits
1. Hidden Camera Investigation Leads to 17 Arrests of Nursing Home Employees Charged with Neglecting Patient Seventeen employees of the Highpointe on Michigan Health Care Facility in Buffalo, New York were arrested and charged in April 2014 with neglecting a 56-year-old resident under their care. The male patient suffers from Huntington chorea, a neurological disease […]
Aide Faces Possible Prison Time after Being Charged with Injuring Quadriplegic Nursing Home Resident
Jolly Stewart, 55, a former certified nurse’s aide at the now-closed John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility in Suffolk County, New York, was arrested and charged in April 2014 for injuring a 57-year-old quadriplegic patient under her care. Appearing before a judge in Suffolk County District Court, Stewart, a Middle Island resident, was charged with […]
AG: Hidden Camera Investigation Led to the Arrest of 10 Nursing Home Employees Charged with Neglecting Double-Amputee
Ten employees of the Blossom North Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rochester, New York were arrested in March 2014 for allegedly failing to provide adequate care to an elderly resident who was a double-amputee. According to the New York Attorney General’s office, six nurses and four nursing assistants faced a variety of charges, including Falsifying […]
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 […]
Westchester Aide Faces 15 Years in Prison for Death of 86-Year-Old Disabled Nursing Home Patient
Fifty-four year old Maureen Flowers, a certified nurse aide at the Tarrytown Hall Care Center in Westchester, was arrested in July 2013 for allegedly causing the 2012 death of an 86-year-old disabled patient under her care. Flowers, charged with Manslaughter and Criminally Negligent Homicide, faces up to 15 years behind bars if convicted. On February […]
New York State Department of Health Releases Latest List of Enforcements
Recently the New York State Department of Health released its latest update of fines against New York nursing homes. Most of the more recent violations resulting in fines have been covered here in previous blog posts. Unfortunately, many of the original violation dates leading to the fines listed on the enforcement log pre-date the oldest […]
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 […]
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 […]
Spring Creek Rehab Receives Citation For Failing to Treat Bedsores
Brooklyn nursing home Spring Creek Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center made news in September of last year when the Department of Health cited it for failure to prevent and/or heal bedsores (sometimes called pressure sores, pressure ulcers or decubitus ulcers). The finding involved one resident, with the DOH noting that the failure created the potential […]
Resident Chokes to Death at Morris Park Nursing Home in the Bronx
A Bronx long-term-care facility, Morris Park Nursing Home, was recently cited and fined $10,000.00 by the New York State Department of Health. The citation and fine are the result of an incident where a 68 year-old resident choked to death during dinner. Under state and federal law, nursing homes must ensure that the resident environment […]
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 […]
Government Report Documents Under-Reporting of Hospital Errors
A study recently released by the Department of Health and Human Services reports that as few as one out of seven Medicare patients harmed by medical errors and accidents during hospitalizations are reported. The study, performed by HHS inspector general Daniel R. Levinson, claims that the primary cause of the under-reporting is that many hospital […]
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 […]
Cedar Lodge Nursing Home in Center Moriches Cited for Privacy Violations and Substandard Care
The New York State Department of Health published results of a survey dated June 13, 2011, in which Cedar Lodge Nursing Home, located in Center Moriches in Suffolk County, received substandard results in several areas. Sections 483.75(l)(3) and 483.20(f)(5) of CFR Title 42 discuss standards for record keeping and maintenance. The importance of safeguarding records […]
Study Finds Black Residents More Likely To Develop Bedsores (Pressure Ulcers, Decubitis Ulcers)
A recent study conducted by the University of Iowa revealed that black nursing home residents are more likely than their white counterparts to develop bedsores (pressure ulcers, decubitis ulcers). In a five year study conducted at nursing homes throughout the country, researchers found that black residents were roughly five percent more likely to develop decubitus […]
Despite Regulations, Abuse Still Rampant in State-Run Group Homes
An investigation conducted over the past year by The New York Times highlights disturbing trends of abuse in group homes run for the mentally challenged and developmentally disabled. The emphasis of the survey, the lack of discipline imposed upon delinquent employees of such homes, underscores the importance of diligent oversight by not only authorities, but […]
NY Bedsore Attorney Report: Jury Awards $5.4 Million in Staten Island Bedsore Suit
A jury has awarded $5.4 Million dollars to Robert Messina, a resident of Staten Island. The verdict stems from Messina’s development of pressure ulcers during several stays between Staten Island University Hospital and Golden Gate Rehabilitation and Health Care Center between 2006 and 2007. The jury found SIUH 75% responsible, and Golden Gate 25% responsible. […]
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 […]
Northern Metropolitan (Rockland County, NY) Cited: Pressure Sore Prevention Lacking
Northern Metropolitan Nursing Home in Monsey, New York was recently cited by the New York State Department of Health for incidents involving residents that developed pressure sores (decubitus ulcers, bedsores) in late 2009. According to the statement of deficiency, inspectors discovered that three out of twenty-one residents surveyed developed pressure sores at the facility. Although […]
NY Bedsore Attorney Report: Pine Valley Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Receives Statement of Deficiency
Pine Valley Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Rockland County recently received a statement of deficiency for failing to properly prevent and heal pressure sores. An 80 year old woman was admitted to the facility on May 26th of last year. Upon her admission, the facility noted that she was at “high risk” for the […]
Westchester Nursing Home, Owner, Plead Guilty to Stealing $400,000 in Medicaid Funding by Inadequately Caring for Residents
Ossining-based nursing home Chandler Care Center and its owner, Samuel Klein, plead guilty in September 2002 to stealing $400,000 in Medicaid funding and failing to employ sufficient staff to provide appropriate care for its residents. The facility shut down in July 2001 after a Department of Health (DOH) inspection revealed that the facility, lacking air […]
Grandell Rehabilitation Fined For Failing To Provide Adequate Supervision To Resident Known To Have Suicidal Ideations
Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Long Beach, NY was recently fined $32,207.50 by the Federal government stemming from a January 26, 2010 NYS Department of Health Complaint Survey. Surveyors found that the facility failed to provide medically related social services to attain the highest practicable, physical, mental and psychosocial well-being of each resident. Tragically, […]
Brief Overview Of New York Public Health Law Section 2801-d
New York Public Health Law § 2801-d provides a private statutory cause of action for residents of nursing homes injured as a result of any deprivation of certain “resident’s rights” that cause an injury. This private right of action is cumulative and separate from any other plausible causes of action, such as medical malpractice and/or […]
Choking Incident At New York Nursing Home Handled Inappropriately By Staff Causes Death
The Crossings, a New York nursing home, was fined $13,300 by the federal government as a result of an incident involving a choking resident. The resident was fed pancakes and sausages, both of which were cut into tiny pieces. Soon thereafter, a nurse’s aide noticed the resident was not breathing and that the resident’s lips […]
Closet Falls On 90 Year Old Nun At Rockland County Run Nursing Home
A 90 year-old Catholic nun was tragically killed after an unsecured closet fell on her head while she was a resident at Summit Park Nursing Care Center, a Rockland County-run nursing home. Sister Mary suffered from dementia and heart disease. The freestanding wardrobe was not bolted to the wall appropriately. She was found unconscious and […]
Ramapo Manor Center For Rehab In Rockland County Receives An Overall Rating Of “Much Below Average”
Ramapo Manor Center For Rehabilitation, a Rockland County, New York nursing home, received an overall rating from Medicare inspectors of “much below average.” As we have previously discussed on this site, Medicare rates all New York nursing homes based on three criteria: 1) Health Inspections;2) Nursing Home Staffing; and 3) Quality Measures. After these three […]
Glendale NY Nursing Home Fined For Failing To Toilet Residents
Glendale Home, a County run facility in Scotia, NY, was fined $20,800 for neglecting to toilet residents according to a Long-Term-Care Community Coalition report. When investigators interviewed residents at the facility, they were told horror stories about residents soiling themselves and/or evacuating their bowels/bladder in their beds or on the floor when calls for help […]
Sarah Neuman Nursing Home In Mamaroneck New York Failed to Treat Pressure Sores
Sarah Neuman Center for Health & Rehabilitation in Westchester County, New York, was cited in a January 18, 2008 inspection survey for failing to prevent
