New York State Attorney General Letitia James in December 2022 filed a lawsuit against Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation, located in Woodbury, for fraud and mismanagement that led to under-staffing, which ultimately resulted in neglect and harm. According to a press release from the Office of the Attorney General, an investigation by the office found that Cold Spring Hills’ owners “diverted over $22.6 million in Medicaid and Medicare funds from resident care through a fraudulent network of companies that were used to conceal up-front profit taking.”
Since then, Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation employees, with the union 1199SEIU, have been picketing, writing letters, attending hearings and visiting Albany in response to a potential loss in benefits caused by the owner’s failure to make their contractually agreed-to payments into the workers’ health benefit fund.
A hearing in order to appoint a caretaker to Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation began on Sept. 20, 2023.
A caretaker, as defined by New York public health law, is a person who acts as a fiduciary responsible to the court which appoints them for conserving and preserving the rights and property of the operator of a residential health care facility while also preserving and providing for the rights of the patients in the facility to care appropriate for their needs in a clean and wholesome environment in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations.
The union, 1199SEIU, issued the following statement in January when asked for an update on the hearing:
“While we wait on the New York State Department of Health to appoint a caretaker for Cold Spring Hills, we appreciate [State Supreme Court Justice Lisa Cairo’s] recognition that stability in the workforce is essential to providing proper resident care and that protecting employees’ health insurance is crucial to such stability. This has allowed caregivers to continue providing care to the residents of Cold Spring Hills while ensuring that they are able to protect their health and that of their families. We are hopeful that a new receiver will be brought in soon to operate the facility.”
Update On Cold Spring Hills Center For Nursing & Rehabilitation
Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation employees picketed in response to hearing that they may lose their benefits in August, 2023. (Photo by Jennifer Corr)
