Over a decade after a scathing article in the New York Post about the low-quality of care provided in many New York City nursing homes, the problem continues unabated at many nursing facilities. In 2006, the New York Department of Health fined 48 nursing homes in the five boroughs – including eight with violations so severe that nursing home residents were in “immediate jeopardy.” These nursing homes included:
- United Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home. According to the Department of Health, a resident choked to death because the facility lacked adequate staffing. An inspection report from that year concluded that more than half of the staff at United Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home did not know how to perform the Heimlich maneuver.
- Split Rock Rehab and Health Care. During 2006, this Bronx nursing home allowed a resident to die from lack of oxygen.
- Marcus Garvey Nursing Home. The Department of Health fined this Brooklyn nursing home after determining a female resident was being sexually abused. Despite laws requiring disclosure of the violent crime, nursing home staffers did not report the rape to the authorities or to the Department of Health.
- Hebrew Home for the Aged. This nursing home in the Bronx performed a biopsy on the wrong nursing home patient. The correct patient did not receive her biopsy until 42 days later when the nursing home finally realized the mistake.
- Bennison Rehabilitation Pavilion. An elderly resident at this nursing facility fell and fractured her risk because of a broken chair. The nursing home had been cited the previous year for “inoperable beds and chairs.”
- Beth Abraham Health Services. This Bronx nursing home lost four of their elderly patients for a period longer than 24-hours during the year. According to the New York Post, one of these residents left the facility with a broken leg.
- Workmen’s Circle Multi Care Center. This nursing home lost three residents over a year-long period, according to the Department of Health.
- Long Island Care Center. The New York Department of Health says this nursing home lost four of its residents over the year.
Despite increased public awareness for elder abuse and nursing home abuse, New York City’s nursing homes are still plagued with low-quality care and mistreatment. According to the Department of Health, over 40,000 claims of elder abuse were investigated last year by the agency. Given the increase in America’s elderly population and the proliferation of for-profit nursing homes, which generally provide lower-quality care to their residents, New York’s nursing home abuse problem will sadly continue to grow.
