New York health commissioner blasts Weinberg leadership for situation at cash-strapped Rosa Coplon nursing home

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said Weinberg Campus leadership displayed a “lack of rudimentary financial tools,” going so far as to imply that Rosa Coplon had no financial budget in place. He was disturbed by the growing list of judgments against Weinberg over unpaid bills to suppliers. And McDonald also called out the sudden resignation of key Weinberg board members just days before the Rosa Coplon closure was announced Oct. 24.

“Am I putting blame on the Weinberg leadership? I don’t want to be ambiguous about that. Yes, I am putting the blame on the Weinberg leadership,” McDonald told reporters Friday afternoon. “When you’re a board president and board members, you absolutely have a duty to protect the residents that you’re entrusted to take care of. I have deep concerns about what I’ve seen.”

While he couldn’t disclose specifics, McDonald said there are “active complaints” and “active investigations” ongoing at the 180-bed Rosa Coplon nursing home, where only 39 residents remained, awaiting transfer to a new home, as of Friday afternoon. In addition, McDonald said his department has had conversations with the Attorney General’s Office, which regulates nonprofit organizations.

He also took exception to the narrative that the Health Department is not doing what it should be to keep Rosa Coplon operating.

For one, McDonald noted the Health Department has provided about $4.3 million – $2 million in 2023, and about $2.3 million this year – in Nursing Home Vital Access Provider Assurance Program funding to Weinberg. He said that program is meant to be a one-time infusion of money for severely financially distressed nursing homes, noting it’s unusual for the Health Department to provide funds more than once.

“That funding helped save Rosa Coplon from potential closure twice now, and allowed its operator to develop a plan for long-term financial stability,” McDonald said. “Since that time, it’s extremely clear Weinberg did not develop a plan for long-term financial stability, which has brought us to where we are today.”

On Oct. 17, right around the time that some Weinberg Campus workers’ paychecks bounced, McDonald said a lien was placed on the campus’ bank accounts. The accounts were frozen, he said, because of a civil judgment against the campus, just one of several in recent months.

At that point, the Health Department became concerned about the possibility of not having food or heat in the nursing home as winter approached.

“This is simply an unacceptable risk to these elderly, vulnerable residents,” McDonald said.

On Oct. 18, Weinberg President and CEO Robert Mayer received notice that the Health Department had approved the closure plan for Rosa Coplon, according to a letter Rosa Coplon Administrator Peter Fadeley sent to residents. That closure plan had been created and submitted to the state by Weinberg’s board and CEO in August, Fadeley’s letter stated.

Once the closure was publicly announced Oct. 24, McDonald said the “orderly transfer” of residents began. McDonald credited Fadeley for moving residents so far into “safe, competently-run facilities.”

As the process continues, McDonald said he’s concerned “about the financial mismanagement and the lack of strong leadership and governance” that allowed Rosa Coplon to be in such poor financial shape for a decade.

“We’re discovering new problems every week,” McDonald said. “This is very concerning.”

At noon Friday at Rosa Coplon – about two hours before he met with reporters in downtown Buffalo – McDonald was seated in a conference room at the nursing home. At the table with him were Mayer and Christopher Koenig, president and CEO of Niagara Lutheran Health System and also president of Lineage Care Group.

McDonald said the meeting was cordial. He said what had happened at the facility was hitting Mayer “very hard,” while he admired Koenig for looking at ways to keep Rosa Coplon operating in the future.

That process, however, is still very early on. Lineage Care, a nonprofit alliance that includes Niagara Lutheran and Schofield Care, is working on gathering the materials necessary for its application to become the receiver of Rosa Coplon, Koenig said Friday. As of Friday afternoon, the Health Department had not received a receivership application for Rosa Coplon.

But 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which represents about 200 employees at Rosa Coplon, took McDonald’s visit to Weinberg Campus as movement in the right direction.

“We understand that the commissioner met with both Robert Mayer and Chris Koenig today at the campus, and that both parties are currently working to provide the information needed for review by the state,” said Grace Bogdanove, vice president for 1199SEIU’s Western New York nursing home division. “It is imperative the state expedites the review of materials and approve the application so that we can work to stabilize the campus as quickly as possible – for residents and workers.”

Speaking to The Buffalo News on Friday afternoon, McDonald said it is unlikely a receivership or change-of-operator process would be completed before Rosa Coplon’s anticipated closure date of Nov. 30.

“There’s no applicant right now to take over. Let me just be really clear about that. There is no applicant,” McDonald said. “What we have is interested parties, but there’s no applicant. So it has to be after that [closure date].”

Based on information the Health Department provided to The News on Thursday, a receivership application can take anywhere from 30 to 90 days for completion of a review and for consideration and approval by the state health commissioner.

For the receivership to happen, Lineage Care has said it would need up to $14.7 million in state funding to help resolve debts, pay wages and benefits to union employees, fund needed capital improvements and provide five months worth of operating support.

McDonald said he couldn’t think of an instance when the state had “brought money to take over a facility.” He also noted that “most qualified applicants have funding” and that no one should assume that Lineage Care will be the entity to take over Rosa Coplon.

“It would be irresponsible and dangerous for the department to hastily approve any new owner without conducting due diligence and ensuring that any new owner is able to keep the residents safe,” McDonald said.

Still, McDonald said the state is committed to saving Rosa Coplon nursing home – “in the long run.”

“I would love to see Rosa Coplon reopen someday with a competent owner, someone who will provide the level of care and attention that people of this good area deserve,” he said. “They really do deserve better than what they’ve been given.”