State records: Woodbury nursing home owners sought to close troubled facility, but didn't finalize plans

The financially troubled Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation in April submitted a proposed plan to the state for closing the facility, preventing Long Island's second-largest nursing home for months from taking on new residents whose placements could have provided revenue for the struggling operation, records show.

When the Woodbury nursing home never finalized the closure plan, a state health official told the facility's administrator in a September letter that the document was "considered withdrawn."

"If Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation wishes to move forward with a closure, then a new submission is required," Stephanie Paton, a health department director, wrote in a letter Newsday recently obtained from the state.

News of the proposed closure hasn't been public until now, with many court documents in the case containing redactions. Federal regulations prevent nursing homes from accepting new residents while a closure plan is under consideration, records show.

Shutting the doors of Cold Spring Hills would have left more than 330 elderly and vulnerable residents immediately needing a new place to live — in many cases uprooting them from the only home they had known for years. Many of the residents at Cold Spring Hills, records show, suffer from dementia, while others have substance abuse disorders and mental health concerns. 

"A nursing home closure poses significant risks to residents and can have far-reaching impacts on families, staff, and the broader community," said Richard Mollot, who advocates for nursing home residents as executive director of Manhattan-based Long Term Care Community Coalition. "Residents may experience 'transfer trauma,' marked by severe emotional distress and a decline in physical health. It can even result in resident death."

Closing a nursing home in New York requires a 120-day notice to the state health department, state officials' approval of the closure plan and prior notification to each resident, their next of kin and physician, according to state officials.

For months, the owners of Cold Spring Hills have been trying to sell the facility, which last year got one of the largest federal financial penalties in the country for jeopardizing patient safety. It remains unclear whether the owners intend to take on new patients while seeking a buyer.

Adding more residents would generate much-needed revenue that potentially could be used to repair the aging building and its numerous physical and mechanic woes, according to Lisa Wickens-Alteri, the nursing home's court-ordered independent health monitor.

An Oct. 16 report from Wickens-Alteri indicated that "once a new medical director is confirmed, admissions will begin after admission policies and protocols are reviewed and compliant." The facility's medical director resigned earlier this month.

It is unclear if the health monitor has the power to dictate accepting new admissions or if she only can recommend it.

A Nassau judge appointed Wickens-Alteri as an independent health monitor for the nursing home in April as part of the resolution of a lawsuit between New York Attorney General Letitia James and Cold Spring Hills that included a more than $2 million financial penalty for the nursing home's owners.

James had charged in the suit that the facility neglected resident care and skirted state laws through a fraudulent business setup designed to enrich its owners.

The nursing home's population has dropped by more than 13%, from 388 residents in May to 336 by the end of September, Wickens-Alteri wrote in her court-ordered reports. The population decline, Wickens-Alteri said, has led to a decline in daily revenue. 

While Cold Spring Hills now is permitted to accept new residents, it's unclear if the facility's ownership is on board with such a plan.

During a Sept. 19 court proceeding, Paul Kremer, an attorney for Cold Spring Hills, suggested facility co-owner Bent Philipson isn't interested in adding residents while seeking a buyer.

In Philipson's view, "a better, more viable way to keep the facility on an even keel while we search for a new buyer is to continue operating at the somewhat lower census levels," Kremer said, according to a court transcript.

Brian Steinwascher, a lawyer for James' office, told the court Cold Spring Hills' ownership was using the facility's economic woes as "leverage" to justify closing its doors or to force a sale.

"They like that they're losing money," Steinwascher said, according to the court transcript.

Kremer, Wickens-Alteri and the state attorney general's office didn't respond to requests for comment.

By early September, a potential buyer had begun touring the nursing home and a decision on the sale of the building was expected "soon," Newsday previously reported.

The state health department said Cold Springs Hills has yet to submit a certificate that is necessary for a proposed change of ownership. 

But Kremer indicated in court that the facility either would be sold or closed.

"One way or another ... there will be an approved buyer or there won't be a facility," Kremer said, according to the court transcript from Sept 19.

When it comes to Cold Springs Hills' future, Mollot called it "very troubling to have a facility faced with significant allegations of substandard care and fraud failing to take the steps necessary to stabilize basic ownership and operational issues."

While the nursing home has been hemorrhaging cash, officials there also have been dealing for months with the resignations of dozens of staff members.

The health monitor's October report said that while staff departures have slowed somewhat, "Daily operational and financial issues" that include fixing the leaky roof and a broken elevator and settling past due invoices with vendors "demand immediate attention."

State and federal regulators have issued more than $600,000 in fines and penalties — the most of any Long Island nursing home — to Cold Spring Hills in the past three years.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.