Tri-State Area nursing home company discouraged 911 calls, offered bonuses to limit hospitalizations, ex-employee says
TROY, N.Y. – A former employee of a New York nursing home company says she was fired for blowing the whistle about what she describes as unsafe practices.
Former New York nursing home employee describes alleged unsafe practices
From insect infestations in patients' rooms to holes in the ceiling, former nursing director Cheri Reppenhagen said she complained to her bosses about those problems and more at the Troy Center because she wanted things to improve at the upstate nursing home.
"I valued the work I did. I lived and breathed my job," she told CBS New York investigative reporter Tim McNicholas.
Reppenhagen said she pushed back the most when she says administrators discouraged nurses from calling 911 for patients in need. She said she wanted to send a patient to the hospital last year, and the medical director instead told her to wait an hour and reassess.
"I hung up and went and reassessed the patient immediately and called 911," she said.
"If you had waited an hour, what kind of situation might that have put the patient in?" McNicholas asked.
"Possible death," Reppenhagen said.
Former Troy Center employee says she was fired over complaints
The Bronx-based Centers Health Care company oversees the Troy Center upstate and dozens of other nursing homes across New York and New Jersey.
Reppenhagen filed a lawsuit against the company in July, claiming she was fired in January because of her complaints.
Centers Health Care sent CBS News New York the following statement:
"Centers Health Care is fully committed to delivering high-level clinical care to our residents at all of our facilities, as well as treating all of our employees with all of the respect and dignity they deserve. Although we cannot comment on an active lawsuit, we strongly deny these unfortunate allegations made by this former employee."
"Honestly, I feel like I hope this interview makes one person get a bath. That's all I keep saying. Like, if it helps one person there," Reppenhagen said.
Reppenhagen said the company even offered financial incentives to employees to keep hospitalizations down.
On CBS2 News at 11 p.m., she'll share those details and why she says it is a dangerous approach. We'll also hear from a Bronx woman who says she struggled to get staff to send her father to the hospital.