fund-raiser for President Trump. “Whatever my political affiliation, Windsor’s commitment to protecting its residents will never be compromised,” Mr. Samson said.
Nursing home evictions can be disruptive and dangerous during normal times — and even more so during a pandemic that preys on the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.
In March, seven groups that represent nursing home residents wrote to New York’s health department, urging it to stop nursing homes from evicting residents because they are “particularly vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus.” Such discharges, especially to homeless shelters, they wrote, “pose particular public health risks, due to the close living quarters in shelters.” The letter also warned that sending patients from nursing homes — hotbeds of the coronavirus — into the community could hasten the spread of the disease.
Advocates for nursing home residents have also urged California’s health department to halt evictions.
While at least four states have restricted nursing homes from evicting patients during the pandemic, New York and California have not. Some companies appear to be taking advantage.
In California, Rockport Healthcare Services, which manages the state’s largest chain of for-profit nursing homes, has repeatedly been cited by state regulators for illegal evictions.
On March 31, with Covid-19 cases soaring, a Rockport executive wrote in an email to colleagues that they should begin “discharge planning immediately,” noting that any discharges should be done safely.
Dr. Michael Wasserman, who was the chief executive of Rockport until 2018, said that was code to kick out the least-lucrative residents. “You are looking to replace the poorest, least profitable patients with the highest paying ones,” said Dr. Wasserman, who resigned after clashing with the chain’s owner.
This spring, Los Angeles County designated three of Rockport’s nursing homes as preferred destinations for Covid-19 patients. Since then, one of them has tried unsuccessfully to evict at least two residents against their will, according to a lawyer who was contacted by the residents’ families.
David Silver, the chief executive of Rockport, said the company was trying to be a good partner to the state by making room for an expected surge of Covid-19 patients. “This has absolutely nothing to do with money,” he said. He declined to comment on individual residents, citing confidentiality.
In New York City, the Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Queens tried to evict more than 20 residents at one point in March, according to residents and elder care lawyers. Employees at Silvercrest — including the director of social services — told residents or family members that the discharges were necessary to free beds for Covid-19 patients.
Image
Abraham Hightower, a 57-year-old man on Medicaid who suffers from kidney problems and high blood pressure, arrived at Silvercrest in January. Since then, the home has tried to evict him three times.
In February, Silvercrest tried to send him to a Best Western hotel that New York City uses as a homeless shelter, according to Mr. Hightower and his lawyer. He appealed and an administrative judge determined that such a facility was not appropriate given his health needs.
Mr. Hightower said he was told by Silvercrest employees that they were evicting residents to make way for Covid-19 patients. In March, he received another discharge notice, this time sending him to a homeless shelter in Manhattan, according to records reviewed by The Times. When Mr. Hightower appealed, Silvercrest backed down.
This month, Silvercrest issued the third eviction notice. Mr. Hightower’s appeal is pending.
“They just want to get rid of me,” he said.
Michael Tretola, the president of Silvercrest, declined to comment on Mr. Hightower’s case or to say how many residents have been evicted. “The health and safety of every patient under our care is always our first concern,” he said.
Lakeview Terrace in Los Angeles, which evicted the 88-year-old Mr. Kendrick, has a history of illegally ousting residents. In February 2019, the Los Angeles city attorney, Mike Feuer, reached a $600,000 settlement with the nursing home to resolve accusations that it had illegally evicted mentally ill and homeless residents. As part of that settlement, in which Lakeview denied wrongdoing, prosecutors appointed someone to monitor the facility. As the coronavirus intensified in March, the monitor had to stop visiting.
Around this time, said three Lakeview employees, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly, their superiors began encouraging them to find ways to discharge residents to make room for coronavirus patients.
On April 6, the staff moved Mr. Kendrick to an unlicensed boardinghouse in Van Nuys, Calif., about 20 miles away.
The next day, the police called Mr. Kendrick’s nephew, Darryl Kennedy. They had found his uncle, who had wandered away from the boardinghouse, Mr. Kennedy said.
“They just dumped him like trash,” Mr. Kennedy said.
David Weaver, the administrator of Lakeview Terrace, wouldn’t say why Mr. Kendrick was evicted, citing confidentiality, but he said all of the nursing home’s discharges were “clinically appropriate.”
Mr. Weaver said that while Lakeview — which has space for 99 patients — has discharged or transferred 16 residents since March, it had not done so to make room for coronavirus patients and in fact had not knowingly admitted any.
After the police found Mr. Kendrick, Mr. Kennedy agreed to let his uncle stay with him, even though he could not provide the level of supervision that Mr. Kendrick would have received at Lakeview.
About a month later, Mr. Kennedy woke up at 3 a.m. to find Mr. Kendrick standing over him with a steak knife. His uncle stabbed him in the back and the head. Mr. Kennedy called the police. He needed 30 stitches.
Mr. Kendrick turned 89 on May 6. He spent his birthday at the Los Angeles County jail, about four miles from Lakeview Terrace.
