New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday accused one of the state’s largest nursing home operators, which owns a low-rated, for-profit facility in Buffalo, of misusing more than $83 million of taxpayer money that was intended for resident care.
The 316-page lawsuit focuses on four nursing homes owned and operated by Bronx-based Centers Health Care: the 200-bed Buffalo Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing at 1014 Delaware Ave. and one facility each in Bronx, Queens and Westchester counties.
As a result of what the attorney general’s office called “years of repeated and persistent fraud” that drained resources from the four facilities, residents allegedly experienced neglect and harm that included sitting for hours in their own urine and feces, feeling severe dehydration and being put at an increased risk of death.
“Nursing homes are meant to be safe spaces where the most vulnerable members of our community receive the care and dignity they deserve,” James said in a statement. “Instead, the owners of Centers Health Care allegedly used these four nursing homes – and the vulnerable New Yorkers who lived there – to extract millions of dollars for their personal use, leading to elderly residents and those with disabilities suffering unconscionable pain, neglect, degradation, and even death.”
In a statement, Centers spokesperson Jeff Jacomowitz said the organization “prides itself on its commitment to patient care.”
“Centers denies the New York Attorney General’s allegations wholeheartedly and attempted to resolve this matter out of court,” he said. “We will fight these spurious claims with the facts on our side. Beyond that, Centers Health Care will not comment on ongoing litigation.”
The attorney general’s office has filed four lawsuits against nursing home owners and operators in New York over the past year – including one in November against The Villages of Orleans Health and…
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