Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation has potential new owner, court monitor says
A potential buyer for the financially troubled Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation has been approved by state regulatory agencies, providing the Woodbury nursing home with a possible lifeline as it struggles with resignations and departures of dozens of staff members, according to a new court-mandated report.
The report, from Lisa Wickens-Alteri, Cold Spring Hills' court-appointed independent health monitor, does not identify the name of the buyer and indicates that an agreement for the sale of the facility — Long Island's second largest nursing home — has not been reached.
But Wickens-Alteri wrote July 5 that the nursing home is "at a critical point" with "growing staffing concerns," including 26 nursing resignations and 27 other employee departures in the past month alone, along with Cold Spring Hills' ongoing financial struggles.
"A new potential owner is interested in Cold Springs, has been in communications with the union, and has the financial ability to invest in the corrections of the physical plant and operations, with proven success in similar situations in the past," Wickens-Alteri wrote in her second report to Nassau State Supreme Court Justice Lisa Cairo.
The potential buyer, Wickens-Alteri wrote, was recently approved by the state Health Department and its Public Health and Health Planning Council to purchase and operate a nursing home in New York State, "demonstrating they passed character and competence reviews."
Wickens-Alteri and a state Health Department spokeswoman each declined to comment on the report or about the identity of the potential buyer. Attorneys for the nursing home did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, a separate nonprofit operator has indicated interest in taking over Cold Spring Hills, Wickens-Alteri wrote. That operator, however, does not appear to be as far along in the process in trying to purchase the facility.
She also warned that the nursing home's labor agreement with 1199SEIU "is one of the richest contracts in New York, posing further financial burdens for such a large facility. The union contract needs to be addressed before the change of ownership to ensure any operator can demonstrate the facility has a future and financial viability."
Rose Ryan, a spokeswoman for the union, said: "Despite the many challenges facing Cold Spring Hills, 1199SEIU continues working to find a solution that will protect the residents and the caregivers."
The wave of departures, Wickens-Alteri wrote, come in part after the more than 400 Cold Spring Hills staff members were moved to a new employer-funded insurance plan that union officials say provides fewer — and more expensive — benefits than what was previously offered.
Wickens-Alteri, however, said staffing remains "stable" because of the declining number of residents living at Cold Spring Hills.
The 588-bed nursing home now has 367 residents — down from 388 just one month earlier — and needs massive physical repairs, including replacement elevators and a new roof for its Brookville building, which has since been shuttered to residents, the report states.
In April, Cairo appointed Wickens-Alteri, president of Capital Health Consulting LLC in Albany, as Cold Spring Hills' independent health care monitor, focused on improving resident care, maintaining sufficient staffing and ensuring that management follows state and federal guidelines. Wickens-Alteri, who began the role in May, is mandated to issue monthly reports about the condition of the facility.
Cairo, who sits in Mineola, ordered the installation of the health care monitor as part of the resolution of a contentious lawsuit between State Attorney General Letitia James' office and Cold Spring Hills that also included a more than $2 million financial penalty to the nursing home's owners. James charged in the suit that the facility neglected resident care and skirted state laws through a fraudulent business setup designed to enrich the owners.
James had asked the court to penalize the nursing home tens of millions of dollars, install a financial monitor and have one of its owners, Bent Philipson, removed — all of which were rejected by the judge.
In her initial June 6 report, Wickens-Alteri said she expected her work would not be publicly released "as there are a number of items included that could cause anxieties for some."
Newsday last week asked Cairo to release Wickens-Alteri's reports, prompting the judge to seek input from the AG's office and from the nursing home. Cold Spring Hills lawyers took no position on the request. James' office said it had no objections to releasing the report as long as certain undisclosed redactions were made.
On Wednesday, Cairo released the reports with significant redactions that appeared to be related to the long term financial viability of the facility.
In court records, Paul Kremer, an attorney for Cold Spring Hills, has discussed the facility's struggling finances.
"Resident census is down, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements have been held up, doctors and hospitals have stopped making referrals, and creditors (including the union benefits funds) are circling in the water," Kremer wrote in an April 22 letter to the court.
A potential buyer for the financially troubled Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation has been approved by state regulatory agencies, providing the Woodbury nursing home with a possible lifeline as it struggles with resignations and departures of dozens of staff members, according to a new court-mandated report.
The report, from Lisa Wickens-Alteri, Cold Spring Hills' court-appointed independent health monitor, does not identify the name of the buyer and indicates that an agreement for the sale of the facility — Long Island's second largest nursing home — has not been reached.
But Wickens-Alteri wrote July 5 that the nursing home is "at a critical point" with "growing staffing concerns," including 26 nursing resignations and 27 other employee departures in the past month alone, along with Cold Spring Hills' ongoing financial struggles.
"A new potential owner is interested in Cold Springs, has been in communications with the union, and has the financial ability to invest in the corrections of the physical plant and operations, with proven success in similar situations in the past," Wickens-Alteri wrote in her second report to Nassau State Supreme Court Justice Lisa Cairo.
WHAT TO KNOW
- A potential new owner for Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation has been approved by the state.
- The buyer's identity was not disclosed in a report to the court, issued this month by the facility's independent health monitor, who warned that the nursing home is at a "critical point."
- Efforts to find a buyer for the financially troubled nursing home come as 53 Cold Spring Hills staffers resigned or departed in the past month alone, the monitor wrote in her July 5 report.
The potential buyer, Wickens-Alteri wrote, was recently approved by the state Health Department and its Public Health and Health Planning Council to purchase and operate a nursing home in New York State, "demonstrating they passed character and competence reviews."
Wickens-Alteri and a state Health Department spokeswoman each declined to comment on the report or about the identity of the potential buyer. Attorneys for the nursing home did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, a separate nonprofit operator has indicated interest in taking over Cold Spring Hills, Wickens-Alteri wrote. That operator, however, does not appear to be as far along in the process in trying to purchase the facility.
She also warned that the nursing home's labor agreement with 1199SEIU "is one of the richest contracts in New York, posing further financial burdens for such a large facility. The union contract needs to be addressed before the change of ownership to ensure any operator can demonstrate the facility has a future and financial viability."
Rose Ryan, a spokeswoman for the union, said: "Despite the many challenges facing Cold Spring Hills, 1199SEIU continues working to find a solution that will protect the residents and the caregivers."
The wave of departures, Wickens-Alteri wrote, come in part after the more than 400 Cold Spring Hills staff members were moved to a new employer-funded insurance plan that union officials say provides fewer — and more expensive — benefits than what was previously offered.
Wickens-Alteri, however, said staffing remains "stable" because of the declining number of residents living at Cold Spring Hills.
The 588-bed nursing home now has 367 residents — down from 388 just one month earlier — and needs massive physical repairs, including replacement elevators and a new roof for its Brookville building, which has since been shuttered to residents, the report states.
In April, Cairo appointed Wickens-Alteri, president of Capital Health Consulting LLC in Albany, as Cold Spring Hills' independent health care monitor, focused on improving resident care, maintaining sufficient staffing and ensuring that management follows state and federal guidelines. Wickens-Alteri, who began the role in May, is mandated to issue monthly reports about the condition of the facility.
Cairo, who sits in Mineola, ordered the installation of the health care monitor as part of the resolution of a contentious lawsuit between State Attorney General Letitia James' office and Cold Spring Hills that also included a more than $2 million financial penalty to the nursing home's owners. James charged in the suit that the facility neglected resident care and skirted state laws through a fraudulent business setup designed to enrich the owners.
James had asked the court to penalize the nursing home tens of millions of dollars, install a financial monitor and have one of its owners, Bent Philipson, removed — all of which were rejected by the judge.
In her initial June 6 report, Wickens-Alteri said she expected her work would not be publicly released "as there are a number of items included that could cause anxieties for some."
Newsday last week asked Cairo to release Wickens-Alteri's reports, prompting the judge to seek input from the AG's office and from the nursing home. Cold Spring Hills lawyers took no position on the request. James' office said it had no objections to releasing the report as long as certain undisclosed redactions were made.
On Wednesday, Cairo released the reports with significant redactions that appeared to be related to the long term financial viability of the facility.
In court records, Paul Kremer, an attorney for Cold Spring Hills, has discussed the facility's struggling finances.
"Resident census is down, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements have been held up, doctors and hospitals have stopped making referrals, and creditors (including the union benefits funds) are circling in the water," Kremer wrote in an April 22 letter to the court.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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