NYSDOH Commissioner in Buffalo to discuss future Rosa Coplon Living Center

BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) – The crucial decision to permanently close the Rosa Coplon Life Center on the Weinberg Campus in Getzville rests with the New York Department of Health.

Earlier this month, the Department of Health announced it had approved the housing closure plan submitted by Weinberg Campus in August.

On Friday, Dr. Jim McDonald, the state health commissioner, visited Buffalo to answer some questions about the future of the facility and revealed the financial problems the current operators have endured.

WKBW

“My primary concern is the health and safety of the residents at Rosa Coplon,” said Dr. McDonald.

WKBW

A full shutdown is scheduled for November 30. However, the health leader hopes either a receivership application or a new ownership application for the center will be made.

“I’m also here to make it clear that this administration agrees with the importance of keeping nursing home beds at Rosa Coplon long-term,” explained McDonald.

WKBW

The health commissioner said they are willing to work with a qualified applicant who steps forward.

I asked McDonald if he met with the leader of the Lineage Care Group.

“I met Chris from Lineage,” McDonald replied. “I don’t think we should assume they’ll be the ones to take over, though. You know, I think that’s a really important thing is that what we’re looking for is somebody who owns and operates nursing homes. that’s what we’re looking for, is someone who owns and operates a nursing home, and someone who does it well.”

But McDonald’s has also revealed major financial problems under the current operators.

WKBW

“I am deeply concerned about the lack of sound financial management at Rosa Coplon,” explained McDonald. “There are some rudimentary things you expect when managing the finances of a healthcare facility. These were missing.”

The health department has already provided more than $5 million in financial aid to Rosa Coplon as she has struggled financially for a decade.

“After Weinberg recently reported that they were unable to make payroll, the board president, most of the board members resigned. Let me just say that again, in their darkest hour, the chairman of the board and most of the board members resigned,” he reflected. McDonald’s.

WKBW

McDonald also noted that there are three judgments against the nursing facility.

“It was a lien placed under the bank accounts. Their accounts were frozen because of a judgment against them, one of three judgments against them this summer. So what we were faced with was the possibility that residents might have,” McDonald noted. “This is simply an unacceptable risk to these elderly and vulnerable residents of Rosa Coplon.”

According to the state health commissioner, three judgments filed in state Supreme Court are for $400,000, $800,000 and $13,000.

“It’s one thing to not pay your bills, but to have a hard judgment against you,” McDonald said.

WKBW

The health commissioner also confirmed that there is “active claims” and an “active investigation” against the unit and his department had conversations with the attorney general’s office.

“We’re just glad that the Health Department is now considering the receivership request and that it’s not written in stone that the campus has no future,” noted Grace Bogdanove, vice president of 1199SEIU.

WKBW

As the state health department commissioner appeared in Buffalo, union members are demanding answers for their health care workers, too.

“I’m glad they’re paying attention now. It’s devastating that it took this to get us to take a look at the Weinberg campus, but more importantly, legal resolution is now on the table, and that means we have hope for recovery,” Bogdanove noted.

The health commissioner promised they would find a new operator, but warned it would take time.

“We are committed to finding a new operator if one presents itself,” McDonald said. “This is not something that will be done quickly, but it will be done quickly.”

The difficult process of moving patients out of this long-term care facility is already underway. The 130-patient unit has only 39 clients.