Poor Performing Nursing Homes in New York State

Across the United States, 1.3 million Americans reside in nursing homes in approximately 15,500 facilities. Many people receive excellent care, but according to a report in April 2019 issued by the U.S. Senate, about 3% of the nursing homes across the nation are deemed problematic. This equates to about 400 facilities.

"In total, there are 618 nursing homes across New York State. Of the nursing homes listed in the Congressional report, 17 of them are facilities located in New York and have been designated as giving subpar care." — Howard Raphaelson, Personal Injury Lawyer at Raphaelson & Levine.  

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on major health care issues, about 101,500 New Yorkers reside in nursing homes. Sadly, this means thousands of people aren’t getting the care they need or deserve. Some of the care received may even be abusive or neglectful. While any sort of mistreatment should never occur, the reality is that it does. Probably more often than is known.

Too Many NY Nursing Homes Receive Low Rankings

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established a 5-star rating system with the goal to drive quality improvements and publicize information on nursing homes so families can make the right decisions for their loved ones. Factors that tie into ratings include staffing levels, health inspections, injuries, hospitalizations, and management of medication.

U.S. News published a ranking of the nursing homes. According to their 2019 rankings report, only 2,969 of the 15,500 facilities in the nation were deemed to be “high performing” in long-term care, short-term rehab, or both. They further drilled down the CMS ratings by state. They found a mere 18 nursing homes in New York State received an overall rating of 5 out of 5. Another report in 2019, this one by LoHud, further elaborates on the 5-star rating system for nursing homes. According to the data they published, here is how New York’s 618 facilities performed.

• 154 nursing homes in New York earned “top honors.”
• 100 facilities earned the worst ranking.

On average, nursing homes are found to have seven violations a year, and the low-performing 1-star facilities typically have even more. Sadly, residents living in low-rated nursing homes often suffer from neglect, abuse, malnutrition, bruising, sores, or sexual assault, to name a few.

What are Some Probable Contributors to Poorly Rated Nursing Homes in New York?

Despite nursing homes located in New York State being required to comply with both federal and state regulations and laws regarding the bare minimum level of resident care, many clearly aren’t making the grade. What are some of the causes of these low 1-star rankings?

• Not enough nurses scheduled to work shifts.
• Nurses’ assistants are poorly paid.
• Staff is not adequately trained.
• High turnover in staff leads to disruptions in continuity of care.

Inadequate or poorly-trained staff also leads to problems such as abuse, improper use of restraints, wrongful dispersion of behavior-modifying drugs, and far more incidences of bedsores and other health-related issues that could be easily avoided with good routine care.

Lower Income Patients at Higher Risk for Poor Care

People who have low income and have their care paid for by Medicaid are more likely to be denied access to New York’s top nursing homes, according to a Buffalo News report published in July 2019. The report notes about one-third of the poor people who come to better-rated New York nursing homes for care are often not admitted. This is despite the fact there are regulations prohibiting discrimination based on economic status. Their numbers show almost 22,000 people who are low-income are two times as likely to be admitted to 1-star facilities. On the other hand, patients using Medicare at the time of their admission to a nursing home were more likely to be placed in a 5-star facility. The reason for this seems to be linked to the fact Medicare pays significantly more money per day to nursing care facilities than Medicaid does.

Nursing Home Patients are Protected Under New York’s Residents’ Rights

Every nursing home resident or patient in New York State is protected by both federal and state law. Under the state’s Department of Health’s Resident’s Rights, people have several rights, including dignity, respect, and a comfortable living environment. They are also entitled to quality care, freedom to make their own decisions, and the right to receive treatment without discrimination. Additionally, all patients have the right to be free from any and all kinds of abuse. New York State’s Health Department maintains the list of Resident’s Rights in its entirety on its website.  (https://www.health.ny.gov/facilities/nursing/rights/ ).

Sadly, statistics indicate almost 25% of nursing home residents experience at least one instance of physical abuse. This doesn’t even take into account verbal, mental, emotional, sexual abuse, or financial abuse. What’s also scary is that many of the statistics associated with poor nursing home care only include documented cases. There are many more incidences that go undocumented.

List of Nursing Homes in New York With Poor Performance

New York State publicly discloses the names of the nursing homes that frequently are more closely looked at by investigators to resolve issues that have been documented. CMS refers to these facilities as participants in the Special Focus Facility program.

New York Nursing Home Facilities specified in the most current Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists are:

• Bethlehem Commons Care Center 125 Rockefeller Road Delmar NY 12054
• Bishop Rehabilitation And Nursing Center 918 James Street Syracuse NY 13203
• Buffalo Community Healthcare Center 1205 Delaware Avenue Buffalo NY 14209
• Cayuga Nursing And Rehabilitation Center 1229 Trumansburg Road Ithaca NY
• Creekview Nursing And Rehab Center 525 Beahan Road Rochester NY 14624
• Diamond Hill Nursing And Rehabilitation Center 100 New Turnpike Road Troy NY 12182
• Iroquois Nursing Home Inc 4600 Southwood Heights Drive Jamesville NY 13078
• New Roc Nursing And Rehabilitation Center 1335 Portland Ave Rochester NY 14621
• Onondaga Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing 217 East Avenue Minoa NY 13116
• Robinson Terrace 28652 State Highway 23 Stamford NY 12167
• Safire Rehabilitation Of Southtown, L L C 300 Dorrance Avenue Buffalo NY 14220
• Saratoga Center For Rehab & Skilled Nursing Care 149 Ballston Avenue Ballston Spa NY 12020
• Sodus Rehabilitation & Nursing Center 6884 Maple Ave Sodus NY 14551
• The Knolls 55 Grassland Road Valhalla NY 10595
• The Pines Healthcare & Rehab Centers Olean Campus 2245 West State Street Olean NY 14760
• Townhouse Center For Rehabilitation & Nursing 755 Hempstead Turnpike Uniondale Ny 11553

1 star New York nursing home facilities is presented below, as published by the Long Term Care Community Coalition:

• Absolut Ctr For Nursing & Rehab Aurora Park LLC.
• Absolut Ctr For Nursing & Rehab Endicott LLC.
• Absolut Ctr For Nursing & Rehab Orchard Park LLC.
• Absolut Ctr For Nursing & Rehab Three Rivers LLC.
• Baptist Health Nursing And Rehabilitation Center
• Bethany Gardens Skilled Living Center
• Bethlehem Commons Care Center
• Betsy Ross Rehabilitation Center, Inc.
• Bishop Rehabilitation And Nursing Center
• Bridge View Nursing Home
• Bridgewater Center For Rehab & Nursing LLC.
• Brighton Manor
• Buffalo Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing
• Buffalo Community Healthcare Center
• Campbell Hall Rehabilitation Center Inc.
• Cayuga Nursing And Rehabilitation Center
• Chestnut Park Rehabilitation And Nursing Center
• Comprehensive Rehab & Nursing Ctr At Williamsville
• Cooperstown Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing
• Corning Center For Rehabilitation And Healthcare
• Creekview Nursing And Rehab Center
• Crown Park Rehabilitation And Nursing Center
• Cuba Memorial Hospital Inc SNF
• Diamond Hill Nursing And Rehabilitation Center
• Dr. Susan Smith Mckinney Nursing And Rehab Center
• Eddy Village Green At Beverwyck
• Elderwood Of Uihlein At Lake Placid
• Ellicott Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing
• Elm Manor Nursing And Rehabilitation Center
• Essex Center For Rehabilitation And Healthcare
• Evergreen Commons Rehabilitation And Nursing Ctr
• Fieldston Lodge Care Center
• Fishkill Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing
• Foltsbrook Center For Nursing And Rehabilitation
• Fort Hudson Nursing Center Inc.
• Greene Meadows Nursing And Rehabilitation Center
• Groton Community Health Care Ctr Res Care Fac
• Highland Nursing Home Inc.
• Holliswood Ctr For Rehabilitation And Healthcare
• Horizon Care Center
• Ira Davenport Memorial Hospital SNF/HRF
• Jennie B Richmond Chaffee Nursing Home Company Inc
• Jewish Home Of Central New York
• Katherine Luther Residential Hlth Care & Rehab
• Livingston County Center For Nursing And Rehab
• Livingston Hills Nursing And Rehabilitation Center
• Loretto Health And Rehabilitation Center
• Massena Rehabilitation & Nursing Center
• Meadowbrook Healthcare
• Monroe Community Hospital
• Nassau Rehabilitation & Nursing Center
• Newfane Rehab & Health Care Center
• Niagara Rehabilitation And Nursing Center
• Oak Hill Rehabilitation And Nursing Care Center
• Onondaga Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing
• Park Gardens Rehabilitation & Nursing Center LLC.
• Park Nursing Home
• Penfield Place
• Pine Haven Home
• Pontiac Nursing Home
• Premier Genesee Center For Nrsg And Rehabilitation
• Presbyterian Home For Central New York Inc.
• Putnam Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
• River Ridge Living Center
• River View Rehabilitation And Nursing Care Center
• Riverdale Nursing Home
• Riverside Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing
• Robinson Terrace
• Safire Rehabilitation Of Northtowns, LLC.
• Safire Rehabilitation Of Southtown, LLC.
• Samaritan Keep Nursing Home Inc
• Samaritan Senior Village, Inc.
• Sapphire Nursing And Rehab At Goshen
• Shaker Place Rehabilitation And Nursing Center
• Silver Lake Specialized Rehab And Care Center
• Sodus Rehabilitation & Nursing Center
• St Camillus Residential Health Care Facility
• St Peters Nursing And Rehabilitation Center
• Sunnyside Care Center
• Sunset Nursing And Rehabilitation Center, Inc.
• Teresian House Nursing Home Co Inc.
• The Brightonian, Inc.
• The Citadel Rehab And Nursing Ctr At Kingsbridge
• The Commons On St Anthony, A S N F & Short T R C
• The Grand Rehabilitation And Nrsg At Guilderland
• The Grand Rehabilitation And Nursing At Barnwell
• The Grand Rehabilitation And Nursing At Mohawk
• The Grand Rehabilitation And Nursing At Utica
• The Hamlet Rehabilitation And Healthcare Center At
• The Highlands At Brighton
• The Pines Healthcare & Rehab Centers Olean Campus
• The Shore Winds, LLC.
• The Villages Of Orleans Health And Rehab Center
• Troy Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing
• Valley View Manor Nursing Home
• Van Duyn Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing
• Vestal Park Rehabilitation And Nursing Center
• Warren Center For Rehabilitation And Nursing
• Wesley Gardens Corporation
• Westchester Center For Rehabilitation & Nursing
• Williamsville Suburban, LLC.

If nursing homes on the Special Focus Facility program list don’t correct the issues occurring in the facilities that have been documented, they risk being cut off from Medicare and Medicaid.

What to Do if You Suspect Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect

When you place a loved one in a care facility, you have the right and expectation to believe they’ll be properly cared for in a clean and caring environment. Any intentional harm or neglect by nursing home staff is unacceptable. if you suspect your loved one is being subjected to any kind of abuse in a nursing home or are seeing some warning signs that might signal abuse is occurring, the compassionate and experienced attorneys at Raphaelson & Levine can help. We'll investigate the situation, ask the hard questions, and make certain your loved one gets the care they deserve.

The Raphaelson & Levine Law Firm is proud to be regarded as The Voice Of The Injured. Since 1992 the lawyers at our firm have helped victims secure more than $500 million in settlements and verdicts. If you’d like to learn more about nursing home abuse or would like a free consultation, contact us today at 212-268-3222. You can also contact us online to schedule a consultation.