Woman speaks out on nursing home ‘hell’

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On another occasion, Ms. Roskind said she tried to help another resident eat and was called a “stupid idiot” by a staff member for her effort. She said staff members regularly cursed and yelled at patients.

“[On] the third floor you were treated like dirt, the first floor overall you were much better, you had a lot of problems, getting to the bathroom, getting someone to help you, whatnot, but you were never put down. You never felt like dirt ... they’re supposed to be there to help you and nobody’s there,” she said.

“It’s a horrible thing to experience. You feel like you dropped down into hell,” she said.

When Ms. Roskind expressed her desire to leave the facility, Schervier administrators called a conference, she said. Her other son, Jim Roskind, was called in from California. 

Mr. Roskind said a social worker offered to help get his mother transferred to another facility, but later tried to sabotage the family’s attempt to have her accepted at Classic Residence in Yonkers.

In an e-mail correspondence obtained by The Press between Mr. Roskind and an employee of Classic Residence, the Classic Residence worker in charge of the transfer said she was contacted by the social worker at Schervier who said Ms. Roskind was “wheelchair bound” and asked, “Do you accept residents who are wheelchair bound?”

Classic Residence requires residents to be able to walk at least a few steps, something Ms. Roskind said she was capable of doing at the time. 

Ms. Roskind and her sons said Schervier staff knew Ms. Roskind could walk, which is why they originally transferred her to the third floor.

They said Schervier characterized Ms. Roskind as able to walk so she could be transferred to the third floor. There she had to share a room (she had her own room on the first floor) and was forced to pay out of her own pocket. When she tried to leave, the family said the facility reversed course to avoid losing her as a paying resident. 

When employees of Classic Residence came to see Ms. Roskind, she walked across her room. She was transferred on March 21 to Classic Residence, where she is receiving therapy and where she said she is doing much better.

Schervier Nursing Care Center, elder abuse, Una Roskind, James Higgins, Medicare, Medicaid, New York State Department of Health
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