Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Ratings and Violations

Tens of millions of aging adults across the United States have significant medical needs. As they become dependent on 24/7 access to care, residency in a nursing home becomes a viable option. However, many nursing homes nationwide struggle to maintain professional standards of care, including Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Syracuse, NY. When these deficiencies occur, vulnerable residents may be subjected to abuse, neglect, or other forms of misconduct that cause them harm.

At the Nursing Home Law Center, we are a team of experienced attorneys supporting nursing home abuse victims. We know what it takes to build a strong claim so that you can hold the nursing home accountable and fight for fair compensation for legal damages. Our attorneys will stand by your side throughout the claims process to ensure your rights under New York and federal laws are protected.

In this guide, we will dive into the history of deficiencies and poor ratings at Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. Then, we will discuss your legal options if you are a victim of nursing home abuse or neglect at this Syracuse, NY, facility.

Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing: Skilled Nursing Facility Profile

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is an important federal agency because it regulates nursing homes in the United States. One of its duties is to publish information about individual facilities for consumers. On the CMS website, you can look up location data, quality ratings, past inspection reports, and violations for specific nursing homes.

Here is the most updated information on the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing:

Facility Name: Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing (VDRNC LLC)

Address: 5075 West Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse, NY 13215

CMS Overall Rating: 1 star (much below average)

CMS Health Inspection Rating: 1 star (much below average)

CMS Staffing Rating: 4 stars (above average)

CMS Quality Measures Rating: Not available

Federal Fines in the Last 3 Years: 4 fines totaling $381,455

Denied Payments by Medicare in the Last 3 Years: 0 payment denials

Cited for Abuse: Yes

SFF: No

About Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing

Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing is a skilled nursing home located in Syracuse, New York. The facility contains 513 certified beds, allowing it to serve many aging Central New Yorkers. This nursing home provides short-term rehabilitation and long-term care services. Van Duyn’s owners are a for-profit limited liability company and several individuals. The facility is managed by Upstate Services Group, which is a small corporate nursing home chain. Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing is not part of a continuing care retirement community or hospital.

Residents at Van Duyn have access to the following services and amenities:

• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech therapy
• Recreation therapy
• Social services office
• Pain management
• Dementia care
• Daily living assistance (bathroom support, eating, dressing, bathing, etc.)
• Nutritional support
• Recreational, social, religious, and cultural activities
• Podiatry
• 24/7 nursing employee support
• Injury recovery

Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing CMS Ratings, Violations, and Safety Inspections

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services created a five-star rating system to assess nursing homes in the United States. This rating system includes scores for three main categories: health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. Together, these three categories contribute to each nursing home’s overall rating. The scale for this system is as follows:

• One star – Much below average
• Two stars – Below average
• Three stars – Average
• Four stars – Above average
• Five stars – Much above average

Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing has a wide range of scores on the CMS website (one star for overall and health inspections and four stars for staffing). In the sections below, we will examine the three main categories to determine why the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing received these ratings from CMS.

Health Inspections

Health inspections are critical to ensuring nursing homes operate safely and efficiently. While typically conducted annually or every other year, inspections can also be initiated in response to complaints. The most recent inspection of Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, conducted in April 2025, issued 27 health citations against the nursing home, far exceeding the New York average of 7.4 and the national average of 9.8. This goes to show why the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing is one of the poorly rated facilities in New York State.

Since September 2024, three inspections have been conducted in response to complaints. In the last three years, 122 complaints and six facility-reported issues have resulted in citations against the nursing home.

Let’s look at some of the specific deficiencies mentioned in these inspection reports, which include the failure to:

• Provide care and assistance to perform activities of daily living for any resident who is unable
• Try different approaches before using a bed rail, and if a bed rail is needed, the facility must assess a resident for safety risks, review these risks and benefits with the resident or representative, get informed consent, and correctly install and maintain the bed rail
• Provide enough food and fluids to maintain a resident’s health and prevent dehydration
• Timely report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft and report the results of the investigation to the proper authorities
• Protect each resident from all types of abuse, such as physical, mental, and sexual abuse, physical punishment, and neglect
• Provide appropriate pressure ulcer care and prevent new ulcers from developing
• Ensure that a nursing home area is free from accident hazards
• Provide safe, appropriate pain management for a resident who requires such services
• Provide proper treatment and care according to orders and the resident’s preferences and goals
• Provide and implement an infection prevention and control program
• Develop and implement a complete care plan that meets all the resident’s needs, with timetables and actions that can be measured
• Ensure services provided by the nursing facility meet professional standards of quality
• Allow residents to self-administer drugs if determined clinically appropriate
• Honor the resident’s right to a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment, including but not limited to receiving treatment and supports for daily living safely
• Ensure food and drink are palatable, attractive, and at a safe and appetizing temperature
• Provide pharmaceutical services to meet the needs of each resident and employ or obtain the services of a licensed pharmacist
• Ensure that residents are free from significant medication errors

Staffing

A sufficient and well-trained staff is necessary for a functioning nursing home. Although the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing received four stars in this category (considered above average), there are still a few areas of concern that could lead to residents suffering from substandard care:

• 480.9 average residents per day, far exceeding the New York average of 165.6 and the national average of 84.3, indicating a greater need for high-quality nurses
• 3 hours and 48 minutes of nurse staff hours per resident per day, compared to the national average of 3 hours and 54 minutes
• 26 minutes of registered nurse hours per resident per day, compared to the New York average of 42 minutes and the national average of 41 minutes
• 3 hours and 18 minutes of nurse staff hours per resident per day on the weekend, compared to the national average of 3 hours and 25 minutes
• 4 minutes of physical therapist staff hours per resident per day, compared to the New York average of 7 minutes
• 13 minutes of registered nurse hours per resident per day on the weekend, compared to the New York and national average of 28 minutes
• A nursing staff turnover rate of 45.4%, compared to the New York average of 40.7%

Quality Measures

This category refers to the quality of services provided at Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing. There is insufficient data to assign a final CMS rating for quality measures, but numerous concerning deficiencies have been identified at the nursing home.

First, let’s look at some of the issues present in short-stay resident care:

• 10.7% of short-stay residents have had an outpatient emergency department visit, compared to the New York average of 9.7%, indicating a problem with nursing home injury cases
• 93.02% of short-stay residents were discharged with an updated medication list for themselves or their family members, compared to the national average of 96.15%, demonstrating nursing home prescription oversight failures
• 1.12% of short-stay residents experienced one or more falls with major injuries, compared to the antional average of .78%, raising questions about nursing home fall prevention programs
• 42.52% of short-stay residents were at or above an expected ability to move around at discharge, compared to the national rate of 50.5%
• 31.1% of short-stay residents experienced a successful return to their home or community, compared to the national average of 50.57%
• 7.52% of short-stay resident infections led to hospitalization, compared to the national average of 7.12%, alluding to a failure to address nursing home wound infections

While there is not enough data about the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing to craft a long-stay measures rating, we can still identify several deficiencies that have put residents in harm’s way at this Syracuse, NY, nursing home:

• 1.55 outpatient emergency department visits per 1,000 long-stay resident days, compared to the New York average of 1.34
• .8% of long-stay residents have had a catheter inserted and left in their bladder, compared to the state average of .7%, indicating concerns about nursing home catheter infections
• 91.4% of long-stay residents needed and received a flu shot for the current flu season, compared to the New York average of 95.2% and the national average of 95.4%
• 28.2% of long-stay residents experienced new or worsened bowel or bladder incontinence, compared to 21.4% in New York and 20.2% nationally
• 6.4% of long-stay residents lost too much weight, compared to the New York average of 6.1% and the national average of 5.4%, demonstrating a failure to prevent nursing home neglect and malnutrition

Residents’ Legal Rights Following Abuse or Neglect at Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing

If you are a resident in a nursing home like the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, you are granted many rights by New York and federal laws, including:

• The right to receive quality care from the nursing home
• The right to maintain a dignified existence and be treated with respect
• The right to file complaints against administrators, nurses, employees, or other patients

If any of your rights are violated at this Syracuse, NY, institution, or if you have been harmed by abuse or neglect, a civil lawsuit can help you hold the at-fault parties accountable. With a successful claim, your legal damages will be covered by a fair settlement.

An experienced New York nursing home abuse lawyer from our firm can help you recover the following legal damages during your lawsuit:

• Medical expenses – Costs associated with your treatment or diagnosis can be covered by the payout, including emergency room visits, surgeries, medications, rehabilitation, and therapy
• Emotional distress – You may struggle with psychological challenges because of abuse or neglect, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, depression, fearfulness, or withdrawal
• Pain and suffering – If the harm you suffered caused physical injuries, the amount of physical pain can increase the value of your claim
• Loss of enjoyment of life – An inability to experience joy to the same extent post-incident may result in greater compensation from the defendants

How Nursing Home Law Center Can Help

The Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing and its employees must be held accountable if you have suffered from abuse, neglect, or misconduct at the nursing home. Our legal team at the Nursing Home Law Center believes in your case and is prepared to fight for justice on your behalf. We know what it takes to build a strong claim and chase every dollar you deserve for your losses.

A Syracuse nursing home neglect attorney can provide the following legal services during the claims process:

• Investigating the Van Duyn Center for wrongdoing
• Gathering evidence of negligence
• Assessing all legal damages for full compensation
• Protecting your rights under state and federal laws
• Negotiating with insurance companies for the maximum settlement
• Litigating in civil court if necessary

Our attorneys work with nursing home abuse survivors on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay nothing unless we secure a favorable outcome. We also provide a free consultation, during which you can ask questions about Van Duyn’s owners, nursing home laws, or the specific focus of your claim.

If you or a person you love has suffered while staying at the Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, contact us today at 800-926-7565 or complete the online form to schedule your free consultation.

All content undergoes a thorough legal review by our experienced attorneys.

Jonathan Rosenfeld is a leading Chicago nursing home injury lawyer with 25 years of experience focused on elder abuse litigation. Recognized for his dedication, he has received recognition from Illinois Trial Lawyers, Million Dollar Advocates, and Super Lawyers.