ALBANY — Employees at a Capital Region nursing home are complaining that what they say are low wages and insufficient staffing are creating unhygienic and unsafe conditions for workers and the nearly 150 elderly residents at the privately owned facility
Hudson Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Albany is owned by Upstate Services Group, a private nursing home operator that owns other facilities across New York. Two of the operator’s other nursing homes — Evergreen Commons Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in East Greenbush and Capstone Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Amsterdam — have similarly been the focus of intense legal scrutiny in recent months, as patients and family members have alleged the facilities have neglected residents, leading to medical problems and, in some cases, death.
Workers and some local elected officials contend that Hudson Park is similarly poorly managed, with apathetic employees struggling to care for dozens of elderly residents, many of whom have complicated medical needs. Last month, some Albany officials, including state Assemblywoman Gabriella Romero, hosted a public forum in conjunction with the health care union 1199SEIU for workers to air their grievances about conditions in the nursing home…