MONTICELLO – A judge ruled, “You shall not cause to be transferred or relocated any of the residents or lay off any of the current staff, and you shall continue to provide the residents’ services as required.”

Opponents fighting the closure of Sullivan County’s Care Center at Sunset Lake have taken legal action.  Civil rights attorney Michael Sussman filed an injunction suit on behalf of residents, families, and workers, demanding an immediate halt to staff layoffs and an end to transferring vulnerable patients out of the Liberty facility.
A state Supreme Court justice granted a temporary restraining order barring the county from removing any remaining residents or cutting staff while the challenge moves forward.
“These are human tragedies that we can avoid. They’re not inevitable,” Sussman said. “They’re not inexorable. They don’t have to happen. And government has responsibility not only to intervene when nature creates tragedies, but not to create them themselves.”
He says there are questions surrounding the vote by the legislature to close the facility:
“A decision like this would be made in a manner which lacks any transparency after years of public discussion.”

The county announced August 19 that the Care Center at Sunset Lake, formerly known as the Sullivan County Adult Care Center, would close by the end of the year. County officials cited financial difficulties and the inability to transfer operations to Infinite Care, a consulting firm that had been involved with the facility.

At the time of the announcement, the facility had 93 long-term residents and 86 employees. The county said it would work with the state Department of Health and other nursing homes to find placements for residents and pledged that no resident would be left without a skilled-care option.

The facility, which has 146 beds, has faced financial and operational challenges for years. Infinite Care began managing operations in 2021 and later withdrew from efforts to become the facility’s licensed operator. The facility’s Medicare rating had also fallen to one star by August, according to the county’s website.

County officials have said the closure was necessary because taxpayers could no longer afford to sustain the facility amid rising costs, revenue losses and needed capital improvements.



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