A Nassau County judge has removed the court-appointed independent health monitor at the Woodbury Heights Nursing and Rehabilitation Center due to her connection to the facility’s bankruptcy court proceedings.
In June 2025, state Attorney General Letitia James called for the removal of the court-ordered health monitor due to Lisa Wickens-Alteri’s involvement in the nursing home’s bankruptcy court proceedings.
Nassau State Supreme Court Judge Lisa Cairo granted the request on Wednesday, Jan. 14, ordering Wickens-Alteri removed as monitor.
Wickens-Alteri is the president and founder of Capital Health Consulting LLC, which has since had 50% of its stake purchased by Abrams Fensterman, a law firm with offices in Lake Success. The firm has represented Benjamin Landa and his daughter Esther Farkovits, who are minority owners in the nursing home, during the facility’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Cairo said Capital Health “forfeited its independence” as part of the acquisition and said her previous order calling for the installation of an independent health monitor was now moot due to a change in the facility’s leadership, her order said.
She wrote that an independent health monitor was never meant to be a permanent arrangement and that the “need of continued monitoring is uncertain.”
Cairo had ordered Wickens-Alteri ‘s installation as the facility’s monitor in April 2024,
Troubles for the Cold Spring Hills arose in 2022 when James sued the facility for abuse and neglect. The suit said the center diverted over $22 million in Medicaid and Medicare funds, leading to resident neglect.
“Cold Spring Hills’ owners put profits over patient care and left vulnerable New Yorkers to live in heartbreaking and inhumane conditions,” James said in a 2022 press release.
Since then, the home had been at risk of closing, and it notably attempted to move out its residents in the week between Christmas and New Year’s of 2024. The state had placed a temporary restraining order on the facility to keep residents in place during the holiday season and had later approved a closure plan with a target date of May 15.
But the facility remained open after the proposed buyer, Eliezer Jay Zelman, reached an agreement with 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which represents many of the center’s employees.
The nursing home’s existing ownership group remains in place until the state Health Department approves the formal sale of the facility.
