The activity director of a Rockland nursing home claims she was fired after asking to work from home because of a kidney transplant.
Elizabeth Salerno of Hillsdale, New Jersey, accused Northern Manor Multicare Center in Nanuet of disability discrimination in a complaint filed in Rockland Supreme Court and moved on Sept. 8 to U.S. District Court, White Plains.
She said a note from her doctor advised the nursing home that she “would be placed in mortal danger if she were forced to return to her office when she could easily work from home.”
Salerno lost both kidneys to illness and now lives with a single transplanted kidney. She is immune-compromised, according to the complaint, and her doctor advised her against having contact with people who could expose her to Covid-19. The lawsuit does not say when Salerno lost her kidneys or the date of the transplant.
If exposed to the virus, she said, “her chance of dying … is very high.”
As of Sept. 12, Northern Manor’s website states, four residents and one staff member had active Covid-19 cases. In the previous 16 months, 155 residents and staff tested positive for the disease.
As activity director, Salerno planned and scheduled entertainment for patients, the lawsuit states, and could easily perform the tasks remotely.
She alleges that Henry Heinemann, Northern Manor’s administrator, refused to allow her to work remotely and summarily fired her. Heinemann is named as a defendant in the action.
Salerno claims that the nursing home and administrator violated the New York Human Rights Law and she is demanding unspecified damages. She is represented by Manhattan attorney Eric J. Warner.
Northern Manor’s attorneys, Kenneth D. Sommer and Diane Windholz, did not reply to an email asking for their client’s side of the story.
Northern Manor said it follows proactive policies to protect residents and staff from Covid-19, according to its website, based on state Department of Health and federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.
The nursing home has a 2-star “below average” overall rating by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The rating is based on the facility’s performance on health inspections and on staffing, both also below average, and on quality of resident care, 4-star or above average.
Northern Manor is associated with five other nursing homes and an administrative organization in Rockland that are structured as charities, according to state corporation and federal tax records.
All are controlled by Northern Metropolitan Foundation for Health Care Inc., also a nonprofit, based in Monsey. Morris Klein is executive director of the organizations.
