Bishop Rehabilitation and Nursing, 918 James St., Syracuse, Syracuse, N.Y., Thursday May 21, 2020. Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.comScott Schild | sschild@syracuse.

Syracuse, N.Y. – Many resident rooms at Bishop Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Syracuse were filthy with sticky floors, brown stains on the walls, peeling wallpaper and had broken call bells.

Inedible greenish-gray scrambled eggs were served repeatedly for breakfast. Residents lay on their beds sweltering as indoor air temperatures hovered at about 82 degrees.

A resident who attempted suicide was never evaluated for injuries, records show. Another resident went four months without being weighed and lost 20% of their weight during that time.

Those are some of the conditions uncovered during a recent state Health Department inspection of the 440-bed nursing home at 990 James St.

The inspection conducted April 25 through May 4 cited Bishop for nine violations related to quality of care, infection control, food and nutrition, cleanliness and other issues.

The federal government recently put Bishop, Syracuse’s third largest nursing home, on its “special focus facility” list of the nation’s worst nursing homes because of its persistent record of poor care. Nursing homes on that list can lose Medicare and Medicaid payments and be forced to close if they don’t improve.

The latest inspection shows the nursing home has a lot of work to do.

Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard obtained a copy of the inspection report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which regulates nursing homes. That federal agency contracts with the state Health Department to conduct nursing home inspections. The federal agency has not determined yet if it will fine Bishop over the latest violations.

Another grim finding from the report: Staff waited four months to weigh a resident who uses a feeding tube. The resident was supposed to be weighed monthly to determine the individual’s nutritional needs.

By the time staff weighed the resident, the person had lost about 40 pounds, a nearly 20% weight loss.

After a resident attempted suicide, the incident was not reported to the state Health Department as required. The inspector found no documented evidence the individual was assessed for injury.

Another resident who required total assistance with eating was given a tray of food and offered no help. The resident tried to grasp a fork to eat and dropped it, then the entire tray of food fell on the floor. The resident was not offered a replacement meal.

Another resident who needed help getting dressed was observed for three days sitting in a hallway wearing a hospital gown. A nurse aide told the inspector the resident had to wear a gown because the individual’s dirty clothes had not been washed. That’s because the nursing home had sealed off a laundry chute connected to its laundry room.

Centers Health Care, a for-profit Bronx-based nursing home chain, took over management of Bishop in February. The chain has entered into a contract to buy Bishop from Edward Farbenblum of Long Island. The sale is awaiting state approval. Centers owns Onondaga Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, an 80-bed nursing home in Minoa that has also had quality problems.

Farbenblum bought Bishop, formerly known as James Square Nursing Home, in 2017 for $45 million. At the time he vowed to improve its operation.

Jeffrey Jacomowitz, a spokesman for Centers Health Care, said new administration at Bishop is addressing problems identified in the latest inspection.

“Prior to Centers Health Care takeover, a lack of strong leadership led to some system breakdown in housekeeping, laundry and maintenance departments,” he said.

The inspection also found lapses in infection control.

A nurse aid without a face mask was seen entering the room of a resident who had not received Covid or flu vaccinations.

A nurse did not perform hand hygiene after removing a resident’s dirty wound dressing.

The home failed to make sure all residents were offered flu and pneumonia vaccinations.

The inspection found Bishop served unpalatable breakfast food at unsafe temperatures. Greenish-gray scrambled eggs were served at 123 degrees Fahrenheit. The eggs should have been at least 22 degrees hotter. The milk served to residents was 52 degrees, at least 12 degrees warmer than it should have been.

Floors in the kitchen dish washing area were covered with dirty water, food debris and spillage. Fruit flies were swarming over a box of spoiling bananas that was leaking liquid.

The inspection found indoor air temperatures as high as 82 degrees on April 25.

A maintenance worker told the inspector the building’s air conditioning could not be turned on until May because the building’s heating and cooling systems cannot be used simultaneously.

Electronic call bells used by residents to request staff assistance did not work in many resident rooms.

The administrator told the inspector Bishop had difficulty getting vendors to come repair the call bells because it had not been paying its bills.

“The facility’s solution was to give out tap bells to those rooms with non-fully functioning call bells,” the report says.

Bishop Rehabilitation and N... by James Mulder

James T. Mulder covers health and higher education. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com

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