Cold Spring Hills nursing home in financial trouble, court records show
Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation in Woodbury has more than 500 residents. Credit: Christopher Ware
Health care benefits for nearly 500 union employees at Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation in Woodbury lapsed this week, as the financial condition of Long Island's second-largest nursing home appears on the brink of disaster, court records show.
The records indicate that while the nursing home tried to raise the $2.65 million in health care benefits, a nursing home attorney told the court: “We have failed.”
Meanwhile, nursing home management gave staff until Tuesday to sign up for a new employer-funded insurance plan that union officials say provides fewer — and more expensive — benefits than what was previously offered.
Ownership of Cold Spring Hills has failed to make the court-ordered payment to the 1199SEIU National Benefit Funds, which represents the nursing home workers.
On Tuesday, those benefits lapsed and staff at the nursing home, who come into daily contact with sick individuals who require constant medical attention, have been working without health insurance. Staff that sign up to the facility's new MagnaCare plan would have their benefits backdated to April 23.
Mike Needham, of Farmingdale, speaking of his wife, Erin Needham, who has worked for 20 years at Cold Spring Hills as a dietitian, said staff members are “panicking” for fear “the nursing home is going to go under.” Some workers, he said, have left, while others are calling in sick or utilizing vacation time.
“No one really knows what's going to happen,” said Needham, adding that his wife signed up for the new plan, despite the higher deductibles and copays. “And that's the frustrating part.”
A nursing home attorney declined to comment Friday.
Patricia Wilson, vice president of the 1199SEIU unit that includes Cold Spring Hills, said ownership “clearly violated” the labor contract by failing to make the benefit payment and not providing “comparable” health insurance to staff. She said the union is seeking “legal avenues.”
The health care battle stems from a legal fight between Cold Spring Hills and State Attorney General Letitia James, who filed suit against the nursing home in December 2022, arguing that its ownership neglected resident care and skirted state laws through a fraudulent business setup designed to enrich themselves.
In March, State Supreme Court Justice Lisa Cairo ordered the facility's owners to pay more than $2 million in restitution and to install an independent health care monitor to oversee patient care. Cairo has repeatedly ordered Cold Spring Hills to make the $2.65 million payment, but Avi Philipson, primary owner of the nursing home, told the court the facility lacks the resources to comply.
When the deadline passed for Cold Spring Hills to make the payment, Cairo held the facility in contempt and later fined its owners an additional $250.
At the heart of the dispute is the financial health of the nursing home, which has more than 500 residents.
In court records, Paul Kremer, an attorney for Cold Spring Hills, has discussed the facility's struggling finances and said it has tried unsuccessfully to find a new owner.
“Resident census is down, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements have been held up, doctors and hospitals have stopped making referrals, and creditors (including the union benefits funds) are circling in the water,” Kremer wrote in an April 22 letter to the court, in support of a Newsday motion to unseal an April 18 court transcript.
Portions of the letter, and other recent court filings, were heavily redacted in parts discussing the long-term health and operating status of the nursing home.
In the unsealed transcript, Kremer said Cold Spring Hills has “undertaken substantial efforts” to raise the money needed for the benefit payment.
“We have failed,” he said. “In the past, Cold Spring Hills has had its bacon saved by others. Those others … are no longer in a position where they wish to put their money into a proceeding that does not bear any signs of resolving in their favor.”
Wilson said her members are “angry” and “confused” by the situation but are continuing to provide care to residents.
“They've been through a number of fights over the years,” she said, “ … but I absolutely believe [Cold Spring Hills] can still be saved.”
Health care benefits for nearly 500 union employees at Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation in Woodbury lapsed this week, as the financial condition of Long Island's second-largest nursing home appears on the brink of disaster, court records show.
The records indicate that while the nursing home tried to raise the $2.65 million in health care benefits, a nursing home attorney told the court: “We have failed.”
Meanwhile, nursing home management gave staff until Tuesday to sign up for a new employer-funded insurance plan that union officials say provides fewer — and more expensive — benefits than what was previously offered.
Ownership of Cold Spring Hills has failed to make the court-ordered payment to the 1199SEIU National Benefit Funds, which represents the nursing home workers.
On Tuesday, those benefits lapsed and staff at the nursing home, who come into daily contact with sick individuals who require constant medical attention, have been working without health insurance. Staff that sign up to the facility's new MagnaCare plan would have their benefits backdated to April 23.
Mike Needham, of Farmingdale, speaking of his wife, Erin Needham, who has worked for 20 years at Cold Spring Hills as a dietitian, said staff members are “panicking” for fear “the nursing home is going to go under.” Some workers, he said, have left, while others are calling in sick or utilizing vacation time.
“No one really knows what's going to happen,” said Needham, adding that his wife signed up for the new plan, despite the higher deductibles and copays. “And that's the frustrating part.”
A nursing home attorney declined to comment Friday.
Patricia Wilson, vice president of the 1199SEIU unit that includes Cold Spring Hills, said ownership “clearly violated” the labor contract by failing to make the benefit payment and not providing “comparable” health insurance to staff. She said the union is seeking “legal avenues.”
The health care battle stems from a legal fight between Cold Spring Hills and State Attorney General Letitia James, who filed suit against the nursing home in December 2022, arguing that its ownership neglected resident care and skirted state laws through a fraudulent business setup designed to enrich themselves.
In March, State Supreme Court Justice Lisa Cairo ordered the facility's owners to pay more than $2 million in restitution and to install an independent health care monitor to oversee patient care. Cairo has repeatedly ordered Cold Spring Hills to make the $2.65 million payment, but Avi Philipson, primary owner of the nursing home, told the court the facility lacks the resources to comply.
When the deadline passed for Cold Spring Hills to make the payment, Cairo held the facility in contempt and later fined its owners an additional $250.
At the heart of the dispute is the financial health of the nursing home, which has more than 500 residents.
In court records, Paul Kremer, an attorney for Cold Spring Hills, has discussed the facility's struggling finances and said it has tried unsuccessfully to find a new owner.
“Resident census is down, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements have been held up, doctors and hospitals have stopped making referrals, and creditors (including the union benefits funds) are circling in the water,” Kremer wrote in an April 22 letter to the court, in support of a Newsday motion to unseal an April 18 court transcript.
Portions of the letter, and other recent court filings, were heavily redacted in parts discussing the long-term health and operating status of the nursing home.
In the unsealed transcript, Kremer said Cold Spring Hills has “undertaken substantial efforts” to raise the money needed for the benefit payment.
“We have failed,” he said. “In the past, Cold Spring Hills has had its bacon saved by others. Those others … are no longer in a position where they wish to put their money into a proceeding that does not bear any signs of resolving in their favor.”
Wilson said her members are “angry” and “confused” by the situation but are continuing to provide care to residents.
“They've been through a number of fights over the years,” she said, “ … but I absolutely believe [Cold Spring Hills] can still be saved.”
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
