Nassau judge removes independent monitor at Woodbury Heights Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

A Nassau County judge has removed the court-appointed independent health monitor at the facility formerly known as Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation after her Albany-based consulting firm was purchased, in part, by a law firm representing some of the owners of the Woodbury nursing home in its ongoing bankruptcy court proceeding.

In an order issued Wednesday, Nassau State Supreme Court Judge Lisa Cairo granted a request from State Attorney General Letitia James' office to remove Lisa Wickens-Alteri, president and founder of Capital Health Consulting LLC, as the monitor at the nursing home, which is now known as Woodbury Heights Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

The move comes after Abrams Fensterman, a law firm with offices in Lake Success that has represented Benjamin Landa and his daughter Esther Farkovits, minority owners in the nursing home, during the facility's bankruptcy proceedings, purchased a 50% stake in Capital Health Consulting in late 2024.

'Forfeited' its independence

In her order, Cairo agreed that Capital Health "has forfeited its independence" as part of the law firm acquisition, but added that the nursing home is now under new leadership and that her previous order installing an independent health monitor was now moot.

Cairo, without comment, also denied a request from the attorney general's office to appoint Vincent DiCianni, president and founder of Affiliated Monitors Inc. in Boston, as Woodbury Heights' new health monitor.

Installation of the independent health monitor "was never meant to be a permanent arrangement," Cairo wrote. "It is undisputed that the facility is now operated by a wholly different entity than the bankruptcy debtor and need of continued monitoring is uncertain."

Messages left with Capital Health Consulting, Abrams Fensterman and DiCianni were not returned.

A spokesman for the attorney general's office declined to comment, as did an attorney for Woodbury Heights.

In her petition seeking Wickens-Alteri's removal, Christina Pinnola, special assistant attorney general in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, said: "A health care monitor must be independent from the financial and regulatory interests of the for-profit nursing home industry, its owners, and related parties that have been sued by the Attorney General in this special proceeding for engaging in fraud and illegality." 

Schuyler Carroll, an attorney representing the nursing home in its bankruptcy proceeding, said: "We are pleased with the judge’s decision and believe it is correct."

Last year, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane, who is overseeing the nursing home's proceedings, appointed David Crapo, a New Jersey-based attorney, as the facility's patient care ombudsman.

Crapo, who did not respond to a request for comment, issued a report in December updating Cairo about conditions at the nursing home.

He said occupancy at the 588-bed facility had yet to return to its pre-bankruptcy peak but has improved modestly. Crapo added that the nursing home's staff is not yet "gelling" and that employee morale is low because of the facility's uncertain future.

'Acted with complete independence'

Capital Health contends it operates autonomously from Abrams Fensterman and doesn't consult with the law firm regarding nursing home's operations.

"Throughout my service, I have acted with complete independence," Wickens-Alteri, a former registered nurse at an upstate nursing home, wrote in an Oct. 21 court filing. "I have never discussed my work at [Cold Spring Hills], asked for or received any instruction or pressure from [Abrams Fensterman], the respondents, or their affiliates regarding my monitorship duties."

Wickens-Alteri spent eight years as deputy director of the Office of Health Systems Management — the policy, regulatory, surveillance and enforcement arm of the State Health Department that has oversight of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Howard Fensterman, managing partner and co-founder of Abrams Fensterman, said James' office achieved little through their motion as their replacement independent health monitor was rejected and Wickens-Alteri continues to provide consulting services to the nursing home.

"They got nothing," Fensterman said. "They got ice in the winter. It was a ridiculous application to begin with."

Last April, Eliezer Jay Zelman, who has taken receivership of the nursing home and is expected to eventually purchase the facility, reached an agreement with the State Health Department stipulating that Wickens-Alteri would "remain in place" until the sale of the property was complete. 

The nursing home's existing ownership group, led by Bent Philipson and his son Avi Philipson, remain in place until the Health Department approves the formal sale of the facility.

On April 12, 2024, Cairo ordered the installation of Wickens-Alteri — at the attorney general's recommendation — as the nursing home's monitor as part of the resolution of a contentious lawsuit between James' office and Cold Spring Hills that also included a more than $2 million financial penalty to the nursing home's owners. James charged in the suit that the facility neglected resident care and skirted state laws through a fraudulent business setup designed to enrich the owners.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.