A State Supreme Court judge on Long Island intervened to prevent the displacement of over 300 nursing home residents at Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. The order issued this past Friday halts the planned relocation, as reported by Crain's New York. The ruling also requires that the nursing home's staff be paid before Christmas.
The intervention came in response to the owner's planned emergency evacuation of residents, which was set to occur before the next court hearing on January 6. With residents at risk just a week before Christmas, the State Attorney General's office intervened, arguing that the eviction would cause "immediate and irreparable injury to hundreds of elderly, vulnerable, and disabled people," according to documents obtained by Crain's New York.
Attorney General Letitia James expressed strong opposition to the illegal evacuation, calling it driven by profit, as per the News 12 Long Island report.
Despite being one of the state's largest facilities with 588 beds, declining admissions have led to legal and financial issues. Owners Bent Philipson and Avi Philipson have been unable to sell or close the facility due to the lack of a required notice to the state Department of Health, according to court documents. The owners' claim of insolvency, used to justify the sudden suspension of the $1.1 million weekly payroll and the evacuation, is met with skepticism by the Attorney General's office.
This legal confrontation is rooted in previous disputes, including a 2022 investigation by the Attorney General that led to a $2 million fine against Philipson and a former co-owner for diverting public funds. The facility also faces accusations of failing to pay workers' healthcare benefits, raised by the union 1199SEIU, which represents many of Cold Spring Hills' employees. The ongoing legal issues are delaying federal funds until the operators make overdue payments to the union's benefit fund.
"Today's decision allows the dedicated nursing home staff to continue providing care to the residents of Cold Spring Hills through the holidays and New Year, but hundreds of residents and their families deserve a long-term solution to this situation," said George Gresham, president of 1199SEIU, in a statement obtained by Crain's New York.
