GOSHEN (Times Herald-Record) — Adeline Ramlow’s family was stunned. What was supposed to be a routine family visit to Sapphire Nursing and Rehab at Goshen last November left them frightened for the home’s residents.
“Help us,” at least five residents asked the family of the fragile 96-year-old Ramlow, as they sat in a common area of the home, according to a lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Orange County on Tuesday by a Westchester law firm.
The estate of Ramlow, who died late last year, and Mary Rice, 93, a current Sapphire resident, are both suing, accusing the home’s new owners of slashing staff so deeply that Ramlow and others often sat in their own waste, begging visitors for bathroom help, meals and care.
Their lawyers at Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP, of White Plains, are organizing a class-action suit for current and former residents of local Sapphire nursing homes, said attorney Jeremiah Frei-Pearson.