Transition and Diversion Waiver.

News10NBC has been investigating the conditions in Waterview Height facility in Charlotte, New York. Residents and their families felt that they had no other option but to use the facility. However, a “little-known program” exists that offers a better alternative for families.

Carol Poupore and Clarence Richard Poupore, Rick, had been married for nearly three decades. Rick suffered several strokes and needed rehabilitation. Carol said that the only available option in the county was Waterview Heights in Charlotte, as this was the only facility with bed availability.

The smell of the facility as foul and that it was the “first thing that hits you in the face”, said Carol.  Residents, staff, and family members told News10NBC that the smell is constant because many residents are left lying in their feces and urine for hours on end.

Carol expressed how Rick was neglected: left in wet briefs; malnourished and dehydrated; and with no assistance. After a week at Waterview, Carol said that Rick was so dehydrated that he needed to be taken to the emergency room.

He was then sent to the only facility with a bed, Pearl Nursing Center of Rochester, where conditions were just as bad. Rick had lost 27 pounds in three weeks. Carol said that this facility was “just dirty, very dirty.”

Both Waterview and the Pearl have been designated as Special Focus Facilities because they have consistently failed to comply with practices that harm residents in the end.

Following hospitalization, Carol was faced with an “impossible choice.” Rick needed rehabilitation after his hospital stay and had to choose between paying out of pocket for an extended hospital stay or a substandard facility.

“And he got sick and went right back to the hospital,” Carol said. “They told me I had to send him back to Pearl. I said I don’t want him to go back there, and she said you’d have to pay out of pocket if you decline.”

Two weeks before Christmas, on December 12th, 2024, Rick sadly passed away.

Bruce Darling, CEO of the Center for Disability Rights, stated that a third-party option exists: the nursing home transition and diversion waiver.  This program offers support services to individuals residing within the community. Many families are rarely informed about this waiver upon hospital discharge, but it is available to anyone with Medicaid.

“The problem is family members and individuals are not given those options,” Darling said. “They think the only choice is to go into a facility or send a loved one into a facility. We’re trying to educate people that there are options.”

Bruce encourages families to contact the Center for Disability Rights for assistance with applying for this waiver.

Carol believes that the lack of quality care levels contributed to Rick’s death. Carol was asked what she would say to the leaders of the state who oversee these nursing homes, and Carol said to “close them down” and “fix it or lose it.”

Carol has filed a complaint with the Department of Health, and neither Pearl nor Waterview has responded to News10NBC.

A spokesman from Waterview thanked News10NBC for bringing Rick’s case to their attention and said that the facility would investigate the complaint.