Buffalo nursing home no longer has biggest Covid-19 fine in New York

Jan. 4—Three Western New York nursing homes were among the latest fined for Covid-19 violations by New York State, which levied the largest pandemic-related penalty to date against a Long Island facility.

A $50,000 fine against Humboldt House Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Buffalo had been the largest issued by the state as a result of a Covid-19 focused inspection last year.

That penalty has now been dwarfed by an $88,000 fine issued last month against Medford Multicare Center for Living in Suffolk County. The state Health Department cited it for allowing residents to dine together during a Covid-19 outbreak in the facility. Residents should have been eating in their rooms, according to the state.

In this latest batch of fines, Humboldt House did not escape the notice of state inspectors. The facility was fined $2,000 based on a Sept. 17 inspection.

Humboldt House administrator Michelle Hardy declined to comment on the facility's violation.

The state also fined two other Western New York nursing homes recently: GreenField Health & Rehabilitation Center in Lancaster, $6,000, and The Pines Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center in Olean, $12,000.

The GreenField fine, levied over a Sept. 30 inspection, involved a discrepancy on testing for Covid-19 involving temporary nursing home workers provided through an employment agency, according to Christopher E. Koenig, chief executive officer of the GreenFields Continuing Care Community.

"Traditionally agencies hold their own information on their staff and that information was different from what we had," Koenig said. "Now we are essentially doing all of the testing on agency staff we hire. By doing this, we don't have to rely on the agency."

The Pines Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center fine stemmed from a June 25 inspection that cited the facility for failing to properly screen workers and other individuals for the coronavirus when they entered the nursing home.

A state health inspector reported that a receptionist was doing temperature checks on individuals but not screening them for respiratory illnesses by asking questions.

The inspection report, in part, quoted the receptionist: "We were asking questions in the beginning, but we don't anymore because if they (staff) aren't feeling well they (staff) would tell us."

Corrective actions were taken to make sure a full screening for Covid-19 symptoms was put in place, according to the Health Department.

At the Medford nursing home on Long Island, a state inspection from May 14 determined communal dining continued despite regulations that prohibit it when Covid-19 cases are detected in a facility.

"...18 residents were seated three each at six tables (42-inch square tables) within the dining room. The residents were not seated six feet apart and did not have any masks on," the inspection report said.

The nursing home was also cited for failing to contact relatives of residents when Covid-19 cases occurred in the facility.

Corrections have been enacted for both citations, according to the Health Department. The facility's administrator could not be reached Monday for comment.

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