Imagine a community where one nursing home is deemed among the worst in the nation, only to be replaced by another from the very same city. This is the harsh reality facing Syracuse, New York, where the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing has recently been added to the federal list of the 88 most troubled nursing homes in the country. But here's where it gets even more unsettling: this comes just as another local facility, Bishop Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, managed to escape the dreaded Special Focus Facility list after years of scrutiny. This alarming swap highlights deep-rooted issues within Syracuse’s nursing home system, leaving many to wonder: why is this happening, and what does it mean for the vulnerable residents in these facilities?
Published on December 30, 2025, by Douglass Dowty of Syracuse.com, this report sheds light on a troubling cycle of neglect and accountability. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) maintains this list, allowing New York State three slots for its worst-performing nursing homes. Facilities on this list face intense oversight and the looming threat of closure if they fail to improve. For Van Duyn, this isn’t the first time in the spotlight—it’s been on a broader federal watchlist for substandard care for years. And this is the part most people miss: the facility’s history includes shocking incidents like a resident accidentally hanging herself, a diabetic patient dying from untreated low blood sugar, and two residents being abandoned at county welfare offices after hours. These aren’t just isolated incidents—they’re symptoms of a systemic failure.
Bishop Rehabilitation, a for-profit facility, had been on the list since spring 2022, plagued by years of neglect and even cases of suicidal residents. Its removal in September 2025 came after improved state inspections, but the question remains: was this genuine progress, or just enough to avoid further penalties? Meanwhile, Van Duyn, with its 513 beds, and Bishop, with 440, together account for nearly one-third of Onondaga County’s nursing home capacity. Their struggles aren’t new—both have faced scrutiny from the state Attorney General’s Office over the past decade. Van Duyn, in particular, was previously on the national list in 2011, during its final months under county ownership. It was sold in 2012 with promises of improvement, but recent investigations reveal at least five resident deaths and 40 injuries due to neglect. A $12 million settlement with the AG’s office in 2025, including $10 million for resident improvements, underscores the severity of the issue.
But here’s where it gets controversial: Van Duyn’s spokeswoman, Kerry Gallagher, stated, ‘We are embracing our Special Focus Facility status as a catalyst for positive change.’ Is this a genuine commitment to reform, or a PR move to save face? After all, this echoes Bishop’s journey, which saw temporary improvements under new ownership in 2018, only to deteriorate again after a resident died from falling out of a window in 2021. Are these facilities truly capable of lasting change, or is the system itself broken?
This isn’t just a Syracuse problem—it’s a national conversation about the quality of care in for-profit nursing homes and the effectiveness of regulatory oversight. What do you think? Is the Special Focus Facility list a necessary tool for accountability, or does it merely shuffle the problem from one facility to another? And more importantly, what can be done to ensure the safety and dignity of nursing home residents? Share your thoughts in the comments—this is a discussion we can’t afford to ignore.
