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In an announcement on Thursday, Nov. 14, New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed that four New York nursing homes, including the Martine Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing at 12 Tibbets Ave. in White Plains, would pay a $45 million settlement to address years of alleged insufficient staffing and resident neglect.
The other nursing homes, all managed by Centers for Care, LLC, include the Beth Abraham Center in the Bronx; the Buffalo Center in Buffalo; and the Holliswood Center in Queens.
According to James's office, the settlement will include $35 million to directly fund improved resident care and staffing. All four nursing homes will also increase staffing and make reforms.
The settlement follows James' lawsuit filed against Centers in June 2023 for "significant financial fraud and repeated illegality," which included resident neglect, insufficient staffing, and a failure to limit admissions to the number of residents for whom they could provide adequate care, the AG's Office said on Thursday.
The lawsuit also alleged that staff members were being assigned to more residents than they could actually care for, and were failing to help seniors with basic activities like using the bathroom, eating, and maintaining their personal hygiene.
"Call bells regularly went unanswered, residents were forced to sit in their own urine and feces for hours, meals were not provided on time, and personal belongings, including hearing aids, dentures, and clothing, were often lost or stolen," the AG's Office said, adding that residents and visiting family members would often report neglected food trays, vermin, flies, and smells of human waste.
In one specific incident detailed by the AG's Office, one resident fell from her bed and was returned to it without an exam while her family was not notified. When her daughter tried visiting her, she was turned away and was forced to call the police while watching her unconscious mother be wheeled out by paramedics. Her mother was later diagnosed with a brain bleed caused by the fall, officials said.
James' lawsuit also alleged that the owners of Centers, Kenneth Rozenberg and Daryl Hagler, schemed to divert tens of millions of taxpayer dollars from the four nursing homes. This included "collusive real estate arrangements, unnecessary and exorbitant loans with inflated interest rates, phony fees paid to companies they and their family members own, and inflated salaries paid for work that was not performed," according to the AG's Office.
In addition to the $35 million to address improved care, $8.75 million of the settlement will be put toward restitution to the Medicaid and Medicare programs. Additionally, if it is deemed necessary by an Independent Health Care Monitor, Centers and its two owners will contribute another $1 million to the fund.
A Chief Compliance Officer and a Facility Compliance Officer will also be hired at each of the four nursing homes to make sure they comply with federal and state laws.
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