Rep. Edward I. Koch (D. NY) has urged Gov. Hugh Carey to vigorously pursue an investigation into alleged fraud and corruption by nursing home operators in New York State but cautioned that the probe should not be limited to the homes owned by Rabbi Bernard Bergman and his associates. “To do so would miss others who undoubtedly have perpetrated abuses and yet have managed to avoid the public’s attention.” Koch said in a letter to Gov, Carey released today.
“To limit the investigation to this one operator would also generate feelings by some that this was simply a personal attack on him with all the undertones inherent in that,” Koch wrote. “There is no question that Mr. Bergman must be investigated as the single largest owner of nursing homes in New York City, but to investigate only Bernard Bergman would be a violation of the public trust.”
The New York Congressman noted that “Nursing homes tend to be sectarian–both in their occupants and proprietors–and therefore we find Jews suffering at the hands of Jews and Christians at the hands of Christians. In neither case is the abuse acceptable and people of all faiths are owed equal protection by the state.” Koch said he would be “shocked” if the same abuses uncovered in New York City did not exist at upstate nursing homes, and if they do “these nursing home operators should be questioned as relentlessly as Mr. Bergman.”
OTHER POLITICIANS SEEN INVOLVED
Koch insisted “that it is necessary to uncover the abuses and the corruption by nursing home operators even if people in public office are found to have assisted some of those engaged in this business of ripping-off the patient and the taxpayer.” He was apparently referring to recent press reports alleging that several top New York State political figures had repeatedly pressured state health officials for favors on behalf of Bergman. They include Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz; Assembly Minority Leader Stanley Steingut; Assemblyman Albert Blumenthal; Assemblyman James Emery; and Rep. John Murphy.
Koch reiterated his proposal that the Governor appoint a Moreland Commission with full powers to investigate nursing home corruption and authority to propose corrective legislation. A similar suggestion was made to Carey last month by the American Jewish Congress.
FEDERATION URGES PROBE
In a related development, the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, in a statement by its president, Frederick P. Rose, expressed deep concern over reported adverse conditions of patients in nursing homes and the alleged misuse of public funds by their operators. “Because of Federation’s commitment to the well-being and decent care of the aged, wherever they are, Federation joins with others in calling for an investigation to determine the facts with regard to proprietary nursing homes management and patient care,” the statement said.
“The Federation position is that, if the critical allegations which have been made are found to be true, corrective action must be pursued vigorously, and a new public determination be made so that such abuse will not occur again,” the statement added. “Federation asserts that operators of facilities for the aged who do not correct violations of these standards must be decertified and lose their licenses.”
SYNAGOGUE GROUP CONDEMNS ABUSE
At the same time, the Synagogue Council of America, the national coordinating agency of Conservative, Orthodox and Reform rabbinic and congregational organizations, issued a policy statement condemning “the mistreatment and abuse of the aged” in some nursing homes. The statement released by the SCA’s executive vice-president, Rabbi Henry Siegman, said, “There is no more despicable degradation of the human person than the abandonment of the aged.”
It welcomed the investigative reporting that has brought the situation to light and called for prompt and full investigation into allegations of criminal behavior. The statement cautioned, however, “against the tendency–by providing gratuitous information–to tarnish entire segments of the community.” The SCA called on Congress to conduct a nationwide investigation of private and public institutions offering care for the aged and infirm.
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