Undercount
Of COVID vics at Harlem site
A Harlem nursing home — caught loading up the corpses of dozens of coronavirus patients — is being fined by the state for underreporting the number of dead and failing to protect its residents, the Daily News has learned.
The Harlem Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation has been slapped with Health Department violations for covering up 25 COVID-19 deaths, state officials told The News.
“As a result of the department’s unannounced focus COVID-19 investigation ... the facility was cited for infection control violations. In addition ...we will be seeking sanctions for underreporting of deaths,” Health Department spokeswoman Jill Montag said.
The Daily News exclusively reported on the W. 138th St. nursing home, where a neighbor saw around 20 body bags loaded into trucks over the course of weeks. The center, however, only reported five coronavirus deaths at the time.
The Harlem Center now reports 31 presumed or confirmed coronavirus deaths.
“We heard about what happened with them undercounting the deaths,” said a former EMT who recently started as a nurse at the Harlem Center. “And I was scared coming in, but, frankly, things are so much better than I imagined.”
Other workers hadn’t heard about the allegations of underreported deaths.
“It’s happening everywhere,” a woman wearing a surgical mask, scrubs and gloves said outside the nursing home. “It’s not just here.”
The inspection is one of the first involving sanctions against the state’s 613 nursing homes and 544 adult care facilities for misleading counts of coronavirus deaths. Two other facilities have also been cited for underreporting deaths to the state: Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale and Northern Manhattan Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, a Health Department spokeswoman said.
Since March 1, inspectors have made unannounced visits to 278 New York State nursing homes and 369 adult care facilities.
The Health Department can order up to $2,000 per violation and up to $10,000 for violations that result in harm to patients. The agency can also seek suspension or revocation of an operating license. “We would balance the needs of the residents and the community in determining whether this drastic remedy is warranted,” Montag said.
Gov. Cuomo’s handling of the coronavirus crisis at nursing homes has faced criticism throughout the pandemic. He ordered homes to accept recovering COVID-19 patients — a move that may have accelerated outbreaks in facilities filled with vulnerable elderly people. He later revised the policy.
A worker at the Harlem Center previously told The News the nursing home received coronavirus patients.
“The Department of Health forced us to take COVID-19 patients from the hospitals,” a medical professional in a mask, goggles, gloves and scrubs said. “The DOH did what no doctor would do. They took sick people out of hospitals and put them in nursing homes.”
More than 6,000 people have died at nursing homes and adult care facilities across the state.
The neighbor who provided the videos to The News had not seen any bodies removed from the Harlem Center in weeks. The only activity of note, they said, was an outdoor celebration for staff.
“I’m glad [the state] is doing something about it, to be honest,” the neighbor said. “They should be cited if they’re not doing something correctly. I’m glad I was able to be of service in some way.”
The Health Department dispatched investigators to all facilities run by the Harlem Center’s owner, Allure Group, and did not issue any other citations, according to a spokeswoman.
At the Linden Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation — another Allure Group facility, in East New York, Brooklyn — employees protested last month. Demonstrators claimed as many as 10 bodies were stored in an unrefrigerated dementia unit where residents were free to wander. According to state data, 61 people died of coronavirus at the 280-bed facility.
A lawyer for the company slammed the state for releasing the information.
“We maintain that we have followed all Department of Health guidelines with respect to reporting and deaths of COVID-19 and look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate that through the proper channels,” said Richard Brum, general counsel for the Allure group. “In the meantime, our efforts remain focused on providing safe and compassionate care for our residents.”
The company was involved in the Rivington House scandal that marred the early days of Mayor de Blasio’s administration. Allure paid $16 million to the city in 2015 to lift deed restrictions requiring the Rivington House property be used for the needy. Allure then flipped the specialty facility for HIV/AIDS patients to a luxury developer for $116 million, outraging the community and sparking one of de Blasio’s early controversies. Cybele Louis, an attorney representing relatives of two people who died after receiving care at the Harlem Center, said problems existed there before the pandemic.
“They couldn’t deal with folks on a normal day-to-day basis. Imagine when COVID hit,” Louis said. “You have lying, you have misstatements. It’s because a culture was going on. This is not new.”