A.G. Schneiderman Announces Settlement With Unlicensed Syracuse Adult Care Facility

SYRACUSE – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that his office has reached a settlement with The Inn at Menorah Park, located at 4101 East Genesee Street in Syracuse. The settlement resolves an investigation which found that The Inn had been operating as an unlicensed adult care facility. Adult care facilities may not operate without first obtaining an operating certificate from the New York State Department of Health.

The settlement calls for The Inn at Menorah Park to immediately retain a monitor to assist in evaluating and assessing The Inn’s compliance with its responsibilities as a residential adult care facility. The Inn must also restructure its Board of Directors. The new board will be made up of at least five members, the majority of whom have not previously served on the board. The inn must also pay a $20,000 fine to the State of New York. In addition, The Inn is required to create a new fund to assist individuals who otherwise would not financially qualify for admission to The Inn. The assistance fund will be initially capitalized with no less than $110,000.

“It is important that families who entrust adult care facilities with the welfare of their loved ones have every assurance that such facilities are safe and compliant with state law,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Today’s settlement will bring this facility into compliance with the law and help ensure the quality of care families and patients expect.” 

This settlement resolves a multi-year investigation by the New York State Department of Health and the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of allegations that The Inn was operating as an unlicensed adult-care facility at a time when its application to become a certified adult-care facility had been rejected. The investigation found that the management of The Inn continued to operate with home health aides in a form consistent with the operation of an adult-care facility; however, it did so without the approval and oversight of the Department of Health.  

Before becoming a certified adult-care facility, an applicant must first meet numerous requirements for the safety and well-being of the residents, not only in the physical location but in the planned, appropriate medical care offered to the residents. The significant delay between the time The Inn first began to operate and the time at which The Inn met the requirements and qualifications for becoming a certified adult-care facility gave rise to the investigation and justifies the significant fine. The Inn received its certification in October 2014. 

Throughout this investigation, the Attorney General’s office has worked closely with, and would like to thank, the New York State Department of Health. The coordinated effort between the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Health was critical to ensuring that The Inn’s residents received the continuity of care that all such individuals are entitled to. 

The investigation was conducted by Senior Special Investigator Thaddeus Kaczor and Special Assistant Attorneys General Paul Berry and David Abrams of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (“MFCU”), and Kathleen A. Crissey and Paula Williams from the Department of Health. The matter was assisted by Syracuse Regional Director Ralph D. Tortora and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Paul J. Mahoney. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is led by Acting Director Amy Held. The Division of Criminal Justice is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Kelly Donovan.