"For example, we don't yet know how the transfer of the Care Center at Sunset Lake to Infinite Care will impact its vulnerable residents and heroic employees who have endured the nightmare of the pandemic." - The SullivanTimes, editorial, March 2021
Infinite Care - which was selected by the Sullivan County Legislature nearly two years ago to take over management of the Care Center at Sunset Lake - is causing harm to patients in part due to staff shortages but also due to neglect and poor decision-making by management.
Meeting of the County Legislature in summer of 2020 with many citizens turning out to protest potential sale of The Care Center at Sunset Lake, as proposed by a resolution before the body.
That’s the view of three family members of residents who have been speaking to The SullivanTimes in recent weeks about conditions they say have deteriorated dramatically. Their allegations were boosted by a recent federal report about the facility, detailing multiple failures of care. The Care Center received a grade of "D" for severity of incidents investigated.
The sources said they did not want to be identified because they feared retaliation that could further impact the quality of care of their loved ones.
All three sources corroborated that there have been multiple incidents of residents falling, including out of their beds. One of those residents named "Kathy" died recently after a fall on her head, said one family member. It's unclear if that death has been reported to authorities at press time.
And all three have cited significant shortages of nurses and certified nursing assistants, who are being asked to manage too many patients at one time during their shifts.
"They are exhausted," said one of the family members, adding that the nurses and CNA's are often asked to be on duty for 12 to 16 hours per shift.
One source said that one of the nurses reinserted a used, dirty catheter that may have led to a urinary tract infection. That same source noted that there was only one CNA available on December 16 to manage 35 residents on Unit 4.
Another source said that residents are forced to eat their meals in their rooms or in hallways and no longer go to the dining room due to staff shortages. One of the sources said that the company also changed a course of therapy that was unnecessary and that did not have the approval of the resident or the person on their health care proxy.
Making matters worse, one source said, is that Infinite Care is focused much more on short term rehabilitation because that’s where the company can charge more. And that has caused less resources directed at those needing most critical care attention.
A federal report on the facility based on a survey in August noted one incident and stated: "there was no documented evidence that CNA#1 and CNA#2 received in-services on how to provide dementia care and abuse prevention prior to the incident."
Sol Klein, the managing partner of Infinite Care, and John Liddle, Sullivan County’s commissioner of Health and Family Services, have also been contacted today by The SullivanTimes for comment about conditions at the facility.
County Legislator Nicholas Salomone Jr., chair of the Health and Family Services Committee, said in July that the facility was "clean" and that he was happy with what he saw when he made a so-called “surprise visit” to the Care Center. Salamone said in November that he made a second visit with Liddle to the facility in October. (Salomone, who has no experience with healthcare, took over the chair when Legislature Chair Rob Doherty removed Nadia Rajsz , who has a healthcare background, as chair).
Nicholas Salomone, Jr., chair of the County Legislature's Health and Family Services Committee, at right, who has twice in the past six months visited the Care Center at Sunset Lake. Yet, he never made any written or oral report to the Legislature or public, except to say that it was "clean" and that employees seemed happy. (At left is State Senator Peter Oberacker, who will represent Sullivan beginning in January).
"What is an issue is staffing..and it's particularly poor on weekends and holidays," resident advocate Cat Scott told Salamone at a meeting of the County Legislature's Health & Family Services Committee in November. "Nobody seems to care at this level," Scott said.
Rob Doherty, at left, chair of the County Legislature with Michael Brooks, Vice Chair of the Legislature. Doherty was behind a concerted effort to first sell the Care Center to a private entity. But after steady protests in person and online, the Legislature instead decided on a consulting agreement . Infinite Care was chosen first by the Sunset Lake Local Development Corporation as one of three finalists to manage the Care Center and later as the winner chosen by the full Legislature.
Yet, when pressed by a family member to report details, Salomone declined to do so and never made a written or oral report to the Legislature. Since then, multiple county legislators have said publicly that Infinite Care has failed for some 18 months to provide reconciliation reports for the $80,000 per month it receives from the County. The mandate to provide those reports is part of the company's agreement with the County.
Megan Holton is the administrator of the facility but the County does not permit her to speak with the media. And, County Communications Director Dan Hust uses his government-issued email address to block any inquiries from this media outlet.
Meanwhile, on December 13, New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed that her office was suing a Long Island facility due to severe neglect. The parent company of that facility is The Grand Healthcare, which was one of the three finalists selected by the Sunset Lake Local Development Corporation to take over The Care Center.
The SullivanTimes will be reporting more details on these issues in the next few days and weeks.
If anyone has a family member in the facility who wants to speak about conditions there, please email sullivancatskillstimes@gmail.com.
Editor's Note: The Sunset Lake Local Development Corporation (LDC) was established by the Sullivan County Legislature to identify a management company interested in leasing the operations of the Care Center at Sunset Lake in Liberty. It owns the premises and associated property, while Sullivan County continues to operate the facility through a consulting agreement with Infinite Care Management. That agreement went into effect in September 2021.
Below are links to some previous stories and editorials about The Care Center:
(DEVELOPING STORY) .