& Albany County Post - The Altamont Enterprise

22 The Altamont Enterprise – Thursday, December 20, 2012
Lighting Up The Center
The Enterprise — Mike Seinberg
Silhouette of an artist: Fire and fog were part of the dramatic light show as Roddy Chong on
strings plays Albany last Thursday as part of the Trans Siberian Orchestra tour.
DOH fines nursing home
By Anne Hayden
GUILDERLAND — The State
Department of Health as found
serious violations at the Guilderland
Center Nursing Home and
ordered the facility to pay federal
fines of nearly $76,000 along with
state fines of $250 per day.
The DOH was conducting a
regular recertification survey,
which occurs every 18 months,
according to spokesman Peter
Constantakes, when it found
several “immediate jeopardy”
violations, as well as other,
smaller infractions.
Immediate jeopardy violations
are the most serious citations the
DOH gives and mean that the
home has issues that could cause
serious harm, injury, or death to
a resident.
The Guilderland Center Nursing
Home did not respond to
calls seeking comment. Constantakes
said the Guilderland
Center Nursing Home was fined
$5,050 per day, for 15 days,
for the immediate jeopardy
violations, which are considered
federal civil penalties. Those
violations had to be remedied
immediately.
The DOH also instituted a fine
of $250 per day for the other infractions,
beginning on Nov. 21,
and that fine will remain in place
until the facility has submitted
a plan of correction and had it
approved.
“The plan of action requires
a set date that all the problems
will be fixed by, and a step-bystep
guide of how it will happen,”
said Constantakes. The DOH
will complete an inspection of
the home after the agreed-upon
date.
The Guilderland Center Nursing
Home, he said, has submitted
its plan of correction, and it
is under review. After the plan
is approved and the issues resolved,
the DOH will make the
details of the violations available
to the public.
The company that previously
owned the nursing home
— Guilderland LTC Management
— filed for bankruptcy in
2008 and was threatened with
closure earlier this year when it
fell behind in taxes, but the new
owners — Guilderland Realty
Holdings Corp — settled with
Albany County and agreed to
pay $1 million in back property
taxes.
“We’re not trying to be punitive,
but sometimes, with
nursing homes, we have to be,”
said Constantakes. “Our main
concern is getting the safety
violations resolved.”
Student News
The Enterprise — Mike Seinberg
The Lost Christmas Eve: The Trans Siberian Orchestra, with Chris Caffery, above, on guitar,
plays for an enthusiastic crowd at Albany’s Times Union Center on Dec. 13.
RIT dean’s list
These local students have been
named to the dean’s list for the
Fall 2012 quarter at Rochester
Institute of Technology:
— Alexander Charron of
Schenectady, a first-year student
at the B. Thomas Golisano College
of Computing and Information
Sciences;
— Terese Davies of Voorheesville,
a third-year student at the
E. Philip Saunders College of
Business;
— Matthew De Novio of
Schenectady, a third-year student
at the B. Thomas Golisano
College of Computing and Information
Sciences;
— Laura Elling of Altamont,
a fourth-year student at the E.
Philip Saunders College of Business;
— Justin Frederick of
Schenectady, a fifth-year student
at the College of Applied Science
and Technology;
— Austin Malerba of Altamont,
a first-year student at the
Kate Gleason College of Engineering;
— Matthew Seita of Guilderland,
a second-year student at
the B. Thomas Golisano College
of Computing and Information
Sciences;
— Lisa Trova of Schenectady,
a third-year student at the Kate
Gleason College of Engineering;
and
— Scott Vincent of
Schenectady, a first-year student
at the B. Thomas Golisano College
of Computing and Information
Sciences.
Grads
— Claire Kaczmarek of Voorheesville
earned a bachelor of science
degree in advertising and
public relations from the Rochester
Institute of Technology’s College
of Liberal Arts;
— Michael Tesch of Altamont
earned a bachelor of science degree
in computer science from the
Rochester Institute of Technology’s
B. Thomas Golisano College
of Computing and Information
Sciences;
Awards and
achievements
These local students have recently
distinguished themselves:
— Nicholas Austin of
Schenectady, who is studying
mechanical engineering technology
at Hudson Valley Community
College, was inducted into Phi
Theta Kappa, the international
academic honor society for twoyear
institutions of higher learning;
— Joseph Barone of Voorheesville,
who is studying business
administration at Hudson
Valley Community College, was
inducted into Phi Theta Kappa,
the international academic honor
society for two-year institutions
of higher learning; and
— Christina Hoult of Voorheesville,
who is studying liberal
arts and sciences at Hudson Valley
Community College, was inducted
into Phi Theta Kappa, the
international academic honor society
for two-year institutions of
higher learning.
For the best
in local coverage,
read The Enterprise.
Beat the High Cost of Heating
Automatic
& Hand Fired
Coal Stoves
John O’Pezio
& “Berne” Coal
(rice & nut coal)
• Auto Burn up to 7 days
• More Economical
than Pellets
• Heat for 1/2 the
Price of Oil
• 5 to 170,000 BTUs
• No Chimney needed
Valley View Farm
179 Seabury Rd., Berne • www.vvfstoves.com
518-872-1007
Call For Hours