BUFFALO, NY – The troubled Emerald South Rehabilitation and Care Center, a nursing home on Delaware Avenue, will lbe closing after a series of incidents which has put the facility under the microscope of state health officials.
They include the death of William Strasner, 87, who fell from his third-floor window June 4 (which prompted the state health department to fine the facility $10,000) and the 2016 beating death of Ruth Murray, 82, a dementia patient who was attacked by another patient when she mistakenly wandered into his room. That incident also prompted another $10,00 fine from the state.
These and other incidents lead the NYS Department of Health to strip operation of Emerald South from its previous owner, and place it into the emergency receivership of another nursing home operator last month.
As well, the federal government designated Emerald South a “Special Focus Facility,” which put it on a list of facilities determined to be in need of closer scrutiny.
State Accepts Closure Plan
In an e-mail to 2 On Your Side, a state health department spokesperson wrote: “To further protect the health and safety of residents at Emerald South, the Department of Health has approved a closure plan for the facility. The Department will work with the receiver to minimize the impact of this closure on the community and to ensure every resident is relocated to an appropriate level of care.”
Todd Hobler, Vice President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, says his union is just learning the details of the plan, which he understands will be carried out over the next month or two.
According to Hobler, it involves placing as many remaining patients at Emerald South as can be accommodated, into the nearby Emerald North care facility (also being operated under receivership) along with as many workers as needed to maintain their care.
“Our hope is that a large number of the employees we represent can be transferred over to Emerald North,” Hobler told WGRZ-TV.
“Those that remain would have options under our contract and may have an opportunity elsewhere. We have been speaking to operators of other facilities and we are optimistic everyone will land in their feet,” Hobler said.