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Robert Spadacini with his daughter Marie, who was known to be a \u201cdaddy\u2019s girl.\u201d Photo courtesy Mary Ann Spadacini.<\/p>\nA new lawsuit against a Country Club nursing home alleges negligence and malpractice leading to the premature death of an 85-year-old man who lived across the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The suit was brought by Mary Ann Spadacini, whose husband of 54 years, Robert, entered what was supposed to be a brief rehabilitation stint at ArchCare at Providence Rest, located at 3304 Waterbury Ave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Robert entered the nursing home on Nov. 28, 2023, after being briefly hospitalized at Montefiore Weiler for \u201clower extremity swelling and shortness of breath,\u201d according to the court filing. But on Jan. 12, just weeks into his stay at ArchCare at Providence Rest, he was readmitted to the hospital with pneumonia, a bacterial infection and sepsis. <\/p>\n
Robert also had developed a stage 4 bedsore, so deep that it exposed muscle and bone. He died Jan. 24.\n<\/p>\n
The lawsuit alleges that the nursing home, owned and operated by Benefice Advantage Inc., along with physicians from Essen Medical Associates, were \u201ccareless, negligent, wanton and reckless\u201d in caring for Robert Spadacini and showed \u201creckless disregard for the safety and well-being of others.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s two years, and it just eats at me every day,\u201d Mary Ann Spadacini told the Bronx Times.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Jon Goldberg, a spokesperson for ArchCare, sent a statement saying he could not discuss details of Robert\u2019s situation, but \u201cWe believe the suit is meritless and look forward to filing our answer to it in court.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDelivering excellent care with grace and compassion to all who come to our doors is the very heart of our mission at ArchCare at Providence Rest. The safety and well-being of every resident for whom we are privileged to care is always our priority. We take all concerns about care seriously and investigate them thoroughly, guided by our commitment to continuous improvement and the values that animate our ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert Spadacini with his daughter Marie, who was known to be a \u201cdaddy\u2019s girl.\u201d Photo courtesy Mary Ann Spadacini.<\/p>\n
But today, without Robert \u2014 and with the constant sight of the nursing home right outside her window \u2014 Mary Ann said she\u2019s struggling in every sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said he was a longtime bus driver for the Transit Authority and a great father to their daughter, Marie, now in her 50s, who has severe autism and has lived in a group home for many years.<\/p>\n
The three of them did a lot of things together, such as going to Yankees games and riding the Staten Island Ferry, Mary Ann said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Her husband\u2019s presence was especially meaningful because, particularly in the era when Marie was born, many fathers simply opted out of parenthood when their child turned out to have a disability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were a lot of fathers who left, who could not deal with this. But not Bob,\u201d Mary Ann said.\u00a0 \u201cThis was his baby, and he and I were going to do everything for her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though Robert was 85 when he passed, Mary Ann said he still should\u2019ve had plenty of years left. His father had lived to be 95, and his initial health issues were not severe, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, his absence has left a gaping hole. Marie is \u201cnot too aware of what happened to him, but she does look around for him,\u201d Mary Ann said. \u201cShe\u2019s a daddy\u2019s girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Robert Spadacini (left) and wife Mary Ann (right) celebrated his 80th birthday with close friends. Photo courtesy Mary Ann Spadacini
\n\u2018He was just lying there\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Robert was at the nursing home, Mary Ann said she walked across the street to visit twice a day. She quickly came to believe that he wasn\u2019t receiving treatment to address the issues he was admitted for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized he wasn\u2019t getting physical therapy,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was just lying there.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Not only did he seem not to receive treatment, he also seemed not to move from bed at all, according to Mary Ann.\n<\/p>\n
She said she tried complaining to the staff, but she never spoke with doctors, only nurse\u2019s aides who said his blood pressure was too low for physical therapy. She said she only saw a doctor upon intake. As Robert declined, Mary Ann felt her concerns were ignored.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy the heck aren\u2019t you doing something bedside, sit him up?\u201d she recalled thinking. \u201cI\u2019m not a doctor, but I know you can\u2019t just lie there, immobile.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
By Christmas, Mary Ann could see her husband was declining, and she started hearing a \u201cterrible sound in his chest\u201d that was later determined to be pneumonia. Robert was never given antibiotics, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time he was readmitted to the hospital on Jan. 12, 2024, it was too late to save him. Though Mary Ann said Montefiore doctors treated Robert with compassion and respected her wishes, his infection had gone too long untreated, and he passed away on Jan. 24.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unlike many nursing home residents, Robert had a caring spouse who visited frequently and attempted to raise concerns about his worsening condition. Even so, Mary Ann said she had little recourse after her husband\u2019s death.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said she filed a complaint with the state Department of Health but doesn\u2019t believe it went anywhere. \u201cThey sent me a boilerplate letter saying they were gonna look into it, and I really don\u2019t know if they ever did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the new lawsuit, \u201cI want to hold them accountable,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Sight unseen \u00a0<\/p>\n
According to multiple rating systems, the 200-bed ArchCare at Providence Rest is not a poor-performing facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It has an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars on Medicaid.gov<\/a>, 3 out of 5 on U.S. News and World Report<\/a> and 4 out of 5 from the state Department of Health<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n State inspection records<\/a> show that between 2022 through 2025, ArchCare at Providence Rest had five inspections resulting in 12 total citations, including two relating to \u201cactual harm or immediate jeopardy,\u201d which appear to have been settled with the state for $10,000 each.<\/p>\n Attorney Michael Hill, whose office specializes in nursing home abuse and neglect cases, is now handling the Spadacinis\u2019 case after it was filed by local counsel.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hill told the Bronx Times of an \u201cunseen epidemic\u201d of senior neglect at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.\n<\/p>\n Hill said his office is working approximately 25 cases nationwide that are \u201calmost identical\u201d to Spadacini\u2019s, with patients who developed infections unrelated to their original health issues that were allowed to progress untreated.<\/p>\n Even at a religious-affiliated institution in a relatively wealthy neighborhood like Country Club, deadly infections and bedsores like those Robert developed are not uncommon, according to Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said the problem comes down to understaffing, which he said was \u201cthe reason these things go unseen.\u201d\u00a0 A pending crisis in nursing home care\u00a0<\/p>\n Industry experts believe that cases like the Spadacinis\u2019 could become more common as a \u201cperfect storm\u201d of challenges is putting nursing home care at particular risk in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stephen Hanse, president and CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association, told the Bronx Times that nursing homes are \u201cstruggling mightily\u201d with staffing that has never recovered to pre-pandemic levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n There are 44 nursing homes in the Bronx and approximately 600 statewide \u2014 and about 70% of those are in the red, he said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n A demographic shift is worsening the problem, according to Hanse. As the state\u2019s senior population has surged to become the country\u2019s fourth-largest, the population of working-age people to care for them has declined.<\/p>\n Hanse also said the state \u201cunderfunds the cost of care\u201d by almost $100 per resident per day, and as a result, 10 New York City nursing homes have closed since 2024, a loss of 1,000 beds.<\/p>\n State leaders are now beginning to address the approaching crisis and allocate more funding<\/a>, which is a positive sign, Hanse said.\u00a0<\/p>\n He called for swift action to preserve quality facilities in every neighborhood, where they can be accessible to visitors and provide vital services for the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hanse also said investment leads to consistent and appropriate staffing \u2014 which Mary Ann alleges was sorely lacking in her husband\u2019s facility. Patients thrive best with regular staff who understand their medical issues, personalities and quirks, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey are residents, these are their homes,\u201d Hanse said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t
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ArchCare at Providence Rest, located at 3304 Waterbury Ave. in the East Bronx. Photo by Emily Swanson\n<\/p>\n