Former employee blasts Van Duyn conditions amid ongoing concerns

A former Van Duyn employee said conditions at the Syracuse nursing home had fallen so far that, in the worker’s words, “prisoners get better treatment than senior citizens.” The claim lands against a facility that has faced years of state, federal and legal scrutiny, raising fresh questions for families with loved ones inside Onondaga County’s nursing home.

Van Duyn Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing sits at 5075 West Seneca Turnpike and is listed by the state as a 513-bed facility with a 91.0% occupancy rate. The New York State Health Profile says it is operated by VDRNC, LLC, with ownership interests listed for Uri Koenig at 60.00%, Efraim Steif at 39.90% and David Camerota at 0.10%.

State oversight has been built into the system, but the record at Van Duyn shows how often that system has been tested. New York’s Department of Health says complaints about nursing homes are reviewed through a centralized intake process, and some cases lead investigators to interview staff and residents, review medical records and other facility documents, and conduct other onsite activity. Survey teams can arrive unannounced on weekdays, nights, weekends and holidays. The New York State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program also investigates complaints involving abuse, neglect, mistreatment and other regulatory violations, while informing government agencies and the public about long-term care concerns.

Concerns at Van Duyn are not new. In 2021, local lawmakers said they had “grave concerns” about patient safety after a state health report on conditions at the home. By 2025, CNY Central reported that Van Duyn had been added to the federal list of the 88 worst nursing homes in the country as a Special Focus Facility, a designation used for homes with persistent quality problems. That same year, CNY Central reported that Rep. John Mannion pressed federal regulators over “serious deficiencies” at the home and sought stronger protections for residents.

The legal pressure has been just as serious. A later New York Attorney General action alleged repeated and persistent fraud and illegal conduct tied to Van Duyn owners, including failures to deliver required care and unsafe resident conditions. Syracuse.com reported that a 2025 settlement required the owners to pay millions and accept oversight reforms.

For families trying to judge whether Van Duyn is improving or slipping further, the pattern is clear: repeated complaints, heightened inspections, federal sanctions and court-ordered reforms have all followed the same facility. The question now is whether those layers of oversight are changing daily life for residents in the rooms and hallways of the county home.