Nassau Nurse Barred From Practice After Covering Up Patient's Injury

A former nurse from a Woodmere nursing home was barred from working in any government-funded healthcare programs after a jury convicted her of filing false paperwork to cover up the injury of a resident.

According to Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, Riadel Manzano, 45, of East Williston, was convicted by a jury on Jan. 25 of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a felony, when she provided a state Department Of Health investigator with a record that she knew falsely reflected that nursing staff at Woodmere Rehabilitation and Health Care Center had properly monitored a Woodmere resident who had been seriously injured after repeated falls.

While he was not being monitored, the resident fell at the Woodmere clinic and struck his head, resulting in a deep cut which required him to be hospitalized and receive staples to his scalp. After being returned to Woodmere, the following day the resident was found sitting on the floor and was again hospitalized with respiratory failure and pulmonary edema.

"Nursing home managers are entrusted to provide the highest level of safety and care to residents. There is no excuse for lying in order to cover up the abuse and neglect of elderly and vulnerable New Yorkers," Schneiderman said. "We will not hesitate to fully prosecute nursing home executives who betray the well-being of those under their care and prioritize their own self-interest."

As a result of her felony conviction, Manzano will now automatically be barred from working in any government-funded healthcare programs and faces the revocation of her nursing license by the New York State Office of Professional Discipline.

Three other former Woodmere employees — two registered nurses and a licensed practical nurse — cooperated with the Attorney General’s Office and previously entered guilty pleas in connection with this incident.

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