New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced a settlement involving two residents of Monsey in Rockland County who have significant stakes in nursing homes in New York state including the Pine Valley Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Spring Valley. The settlement concerned the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, a nursing home in Syracuse, and its owners and operators who James identified as Efraim Steif and Uri Koenig.
According to James, an investigation by her office revealed that Steif and Koenig received millions of dollars of taxpayer funds meant for resident care, leaving the nursing home severely understaffed. James said that residents suffered in unsafe conditions, leading to hospitalizations, deaths, and significant trauma.
As a result of attorney general’s investigation and settlement, Van Duyn and its owners will pay a total of $12 million, including $10 million to directly fund improved resident care and staffing. The attorney general’s office will also install an Independent Health Care Monitor (IHM) and an Independent Financial Monitor (IFM) to oversee and improve the nursing home’s health and financial operations.
“For years, residents at Van Duyn endured unacceptable neglect that caused traumatic injuries and tragic deaths,” James said. “We are holding Van Duyn’s owners accountable for these conditions, and ensuring the facility will make all the necessary changes so that its residents get the care they deserve. I will always fight for the dignity and rights of vulnerable New Yorkers and I will continue to go after nursing homes and their owners when they fail to take care of their residents.”
Under the settlement, Van Duyn’s owners must pay $12 million, including $2 million in restitution to New York’s Medicaid program and $10 million to a Resident Care Fund that will be used to support reforms to the nursing home recommended by the independent monitors. Van Duyn’s owners must pay for and appoint an IHM to oversee all health care operations at the facility and ensure the nursing home improves resident care.
Van Duyn’s owners must pay for and appoint an IFM to oversee Van Duyn’s finances, ensure compliance with the OAG’s settlement and the law, and prevent future fraud. The IFM will also oversee the Resident Care Fund and only approve disbursements from it that are consistent with the IHM’s recommendations.
Under the settlement, Van Duyn and its owners are prohibited from closing or selling the nursing home for at least five years. They also must continue to operate the nursing home at the staffing and supervision levels recommended by the IHM for at least two years after the end of the settlement terms, and they are subject to a $1 million penalty if they violate this duty.
