The future of the Care Center at Sunset Lake remains uncertain after Infinite Care announced it is ending its consulting role at the Sullivan County-owned nursing home, leaving county officials to determine what comes next for the facility.
The change has also led to a pause in new admissions while the transition takes place. County officials have not said how long the pause will last.
The development was first reported by Isabel Braverman and Sean Kuhn of the Sullivan County Democrat. During an interview with Radio Catskill, the two discussed the history behind the decision and what it means for residents, employees and families seeking nursing home care.
“It was in 2021 when Infinite Care came in,” Braverman said. “At that time, the Sullivan County Legislature was proposing to sell the facility because they said it was in a poor financial situation.”
The proposal to sell the nursing home drew strong opposition from residents, employees and members of the public. Instead, lawmakers changed course, created the Sunset Lake Local Development Corporation and sought a private company to help manage the county-owned facility.
After reviewing proposals, the county selected Infinite Care, which began providing consulting and administrative services in 2021.
“They’re a consultant,” Kuhn explained. “The employees are still county employees.”
The long-term plan was for an Infinite Care-related entity to become the facility’s licensed operator. To do that, the company needed approval from the New York State Department of Health through a Certificate of Need application.
That application has remained pending for more than three years.
“We didn’t really get a response as far as why the application hasn’t gone through,” Kuhn said. “It might have something to do with the state of the care center. It might have to do with the consulting company itself, but it’s hard to say.”
According to Sullivan County Director of Communications Dan Hust, Infinite Care determined it was no longer practical to continue waiting for a decision from the Department of Health and decided to end its consulting relationship with the county.
The county remains the licensed operator of the 146-bed nursing home, which currently houses 96 residents, about a 66 percent occupancy rate.
Braverman said families have already been feeling the effects of the admissions pause.
“We have had a couple of people reach out to us saying they were trying to get a family member into the care center,” she said. “County officials said it will remain closed while this transition happens.”
Neither the county nor Infinite Care has announced when admissions might resume.
The transition also comes as the Care Center continues to face scrutiny over its Medicare rating.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the facility currently has an overall one-star rating. It received one star for health inspections, two stars for staffing and four stars for quality measures.
A complaint inspection completed in February cited deficiencies involving the investigation and reporting of injuries involving two residents.
“They failed to adequately investigate the injuries,” Kuhn said. “They failed to investigate and failed to report on both of these incidences.”
According to inspection findings, one resident was later diagnosed with a fractured hip, while another suffered fractures to the tibia and fibula. Inspectors concluded the facility failed to adequately investigate how those injuries occurred and did not report them to the state in a timely manner.
County officials have not said whether the inspection findings or the Medicare rating played any role in Infinite Care’s decision to withdraw.
Looking ahead, Kuhn said the uncertainty highlights a larger challenge facing healthcare in Sullivan County and across the region.
“I think healthcare across the county, and I think most of the Hudson Valley, has been a challenge,” he said. “As far as elderly care, that’s probably an even harder thing to find in this area.”
He said families are often forced to look outside Sullivan County for long-term care, with some traveling to Orange County, Pennsylvania or New Jersey to find available beds.
For now, Braverman said county officials have offered few details beyond saying the transition will happen gradually.
“They said the transition has not yet begun and that residents and staff will be kept informed of changes as the county determines its long-term plans for the facility,” she said.
County officials have not announced who will take over Infinite Care’s responsibilities, when the admissions pause will end or what the transition will cost taxpayers.
The Sullivan County Democrat’s original reporting by Isabel Braverman and Sean Kuhn is available at: https://www.scdemocratonline.com/stories/untitled,243595?