Rockaway Care Center
353 Beach 48th Street, Far Rockaway, NY 11691 · Queens County · 228 certified beds · avg 211 residents/day · certified since Nov 1, 1976
What health inspectors found (on-site government inspections — the most independent evidence available)
Health inspection rating: ★☆☆☆☆1/5 · CMS overall rating: 1/5
The health inspection star above is graded on a curve within each state — a set share of each state's facilities gets each star level — so a facility can have few citations and still rate 2–3 stars if others in its state did even better. The overall rating combines that inspection score with staffing and self-reported quality measures.
Most serious findings (actual harm or immediate jeopardy)
▲ Immediate jeopardy, one-off · Apr 25, 2025 · F-0742 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not provide appropriate treatment and services to residents with a mental health condition, difficulty adjusting emotionally, or a history of trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Why it matters: Residents with mental health needs who go untreated can suffer worsening symptoms, distress, and isolation.
Severity (J): Inspectors found a situation that put a resident's life or safety in immediate danger, affecting one or a few residents. The facility must fix it immediately — these citations often come with large fines.
Corrected: Jun 5, 2025 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
▲ Actual harm, one-off · Dec 11, 2025 · F-0689 · triggered by a complaint
The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls.
Why it matters: This is one of the most common citations and directly relates to falls and injuries, which can be devastating for older adults.
Severity (G): One or a few residents were actually harmed — physically or emotionally — though not put in immediate danger of serious injury or death.
Corrected: Feb 9, 2026 (Deficient, Provider has date of correction)
All citations in the current public record (32)
CMS publishes roughly the last three inspection cycles plus recent complaint investigations. Older surveys drop out of the record as new ones are completed.
| Date | Severity | What the facility was cited for |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 11, 2025 | ▲ G · Actual harm, one-off | The facility did not keep the environment free of accident hazards, or did not provide enough supervision to prevent accidents like falls. · from a complaint |
| Dec 10, 2025 | F · Potential for harm, facility-wide | The facility did not have a licensed pharmacist review each resident's complete medication regimen and medical chart every month, or did not follow its own rules for reporting medication problems. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have enough nursing staff each day to meet every resident's needs, or did not have a licensed nurse in charge on each shift. Adequate staffing is one of the strongest predictors of good care. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not observe each nurse aide's job performance or provide regular training as required. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility's medication error rate was 5 percent or higher — meaning too many doses were given incorrectly, such as the wrong drug, dose, or time. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not dispose of garbage and refuse properly. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not conduct and document a facility-wide assessment of what staff, supplies, and resources it needs to care for its residents properly — during everyday operations, nights, weekends, and emergencies. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | E · Potential for harm, repeated | The facility did not keep all essential equipment working safely — things like heating and cooling systems, kitchen equipment, and medical devices. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not treat residents with respect and dignity, or did not let them keep and use their own personal belongings. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility used physical restraints — devices that limit a resident's movement — when they weren't needed for medical treatment. · from a complaint |
| Dec 10, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop or follow a complete care plan for each resident — the written roadmap covering all of a resident's needs, with measurable goals and timelines. · from a complaint |
| Dec 10, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility provided care that did not meet professional standards of quality — the accepted standards that nurses and other clinicians are expected to follow. · from a complaint |
| Dec 10, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide treatment and care that follows the doctor's orders and matches the resident's own preferences and goals. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide enough food and fluids to keep residents healthy, such as preventing unplanned weight loss or dehydration. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide safe and appropriate respiratory care — such as oxygen, breathing treatments, or care for residents on breathing equipment — for residents who needed it. |
| Dec 10, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have a written plan describing how it runs its quality improvement program — the ongoing process of finding problems in care and fixing them. |
| Apr 25, 2025 | ▲ J · Immediate jeopardy, one-off | The facility did not provide appropriate treatment and services to residents with a mental health condition, difficulty adjusting emotionally, or a history of trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). · from a complaint |
| Apr 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop a resident's complete plan of care within 7 days of the full assessment, or the plan wasn't prepared, reviewed, and updated by a team of health professionals as required. · from a complaint |
| Apr 25, 2025 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not make sure the resident's doctor reviewed their care and wrote, signed, and dated progress notes and orders at each required visit. · from a complaint |
| Jul 27, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility used physical restraints — devices that limit a resident's movement — when they weren't needed for medical treatment. |
| Jul 27, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not report suspected abuse, neglect, or theft to the proper authorities quickly enough, or did not report the results of its investigation. |
| Jul 27, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility used bed rails without first trying safer alternatives, or without assessing the resident's safety risk, discussing the risks and benefits with the resident or family, getting consent, and installing the rails correctly. |
| Jul 27, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide food that accounts for each resident's allergies, intolerances, and personal preferences, or did not offer appealing alternatives. |
| Jul 27, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not get its food from approved, safe sources, or did not store, prepare, and serve food according to professional food safety standards. |
| Jul 27, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not arrange hospice services for a resident who needed them, or help the resident move to a facility that could arrange hospice. Hospice provides comfort-focused care for people nearing the end of life. |
| Jul 27, 2023 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
| Jul 12, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not make reasonable adjustments to fit each resident's individual needs and preferences — things like call buttons within reach, preferred wake-up times, or accessible room setups. |
| Jul 12, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not accurately assess a resident's health and needs. Assessments are the foundation for all the care a resident receives. |
| Jul 12, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not develop or follow a complete care plan for each resident — the written roadmap covering all of a resident's needs, with measurable goals and timelines. |
| Jul 12, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not provide proper care for pressure ulcers (bedsores) or did not do enough to prevent new ones from forming. Bedsores develop when residents stay in one position too long without help moving. |
| Jul 12, 2021 | D · Potential for harm, one-off | The facility did not have or follow an effective program to prevent and control infections — such as proper hand washing, cleaning, and isolation practices. This is the most commonly cited deficiency nationwide. |
Inspection trend by year
Citations from standard inspections increased between the last two inspection cycles (7 → 13).
| Year | Citations | Serious (G–L) | Worst severity that year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5 | 0 | D |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 | D |
| 2025 | 20 | 2 | J ▲ |
Counts reflect the current CMS public record (~3 inspection cycles plus complaint investigations); years with no surveys show no row. Inspection frequency varies, so compare severity as well as counts.
Fines and enforcement (last 3 years)
1 fine totaling $135,193.
| Date | Type | Amount / length |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 25, 2025 | Fine | $135,193 |
Nurse staffing (from payroll records, adjusted for how much care residents need)
| Measure | This facility | New York avg | U.S. avg | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total nurse staffing (hours per resident per day) | 2.73 | 3.58 | 3.95 | bottom 10% in New York; bottom 7% in the U.S. |
| Registered Nurse hours | 0.67 | 0.68 | 0.69 | top 35% in New York; top 40% in the U.S. |
| Weekend total nurse staffing | 2.46 | 3.13 | 3.50 | bottom 13% in New York; bottom 8% in the U.S. |
| Weekend RN hours (not acuity-adjusted) | 0.59 | 0.48 | 0.48 | top 23% in New York; top 24% in the U.S. |
| Total nursing staff turnover (%) | 45.1 | 40.3 | 45.8 | bottom 37% in New York; bottom 50% in the U.S. |
| RN turnover (%) | 53.8 | 39.8 | 42.9 | bottom 21% in New York; bottom 30% in the U.S. |
Hours are per resident per day, case-mix adjusted by CMS so facilities caring for sicker residents can be compared fairly (same basis as the CMS staffing star). "Top X%" means better than most facilities: more staffing hours, or lower turnover. Raw (unadjusted) reported hours: total 3.14, RN 0.77, weekend 2.83. Staffing rating: 2/5.
Self-reported quality measures
Note: these ratings are based on data the facility reports about itself to CMS. They are not independently verified by inspectors, and can look better than inspection findings. Give more weight to the inspection results above.
Quality measures rating: 3/5 · long-stay residents: 5/5 · short-stay residents: 1/5
Who owns this facility
For profit - Individual
| Owner / manager | Type | Role | Stake | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melnicke, Michael | Individual | 5% or Greater Direct Ownership Interest | 100% | 06/24/2008 |
| Jaffa, Rosalie | Individual | W-2 Managing Employee | NOT APPLICABLE | 02/11/2018 |
| Sirkis, Avrom | Individual | Corporate Officer | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/30/2018 |
| Sirkis, Avrom | Individual | Operational/Managerial Control | NOT APPLICABLE | 07/30/2018 |
| Sterling National Bank | Organization | 5% or Greater Mortgage Interest | NOT APPLICABLE | 05/26/2017 |
Questions to ask on your visit
Generated from this facility's actual citation record — bring them to a tour and ask the administrator directly.
- "What mental health services do you offer on-site, and how do you care for residents with depression, anxiety, or a history of trauma?"
- "What is your falls rate, and what specific steps do you take to prevent falls and supervise residents at risk?"
- "Does a pharmacist review every resident's medications and chart monthly, and how are their concerns acted on?"
- "What is your nurse and aide staffing ratio on each shift, including nights and weekends?"
- "How often do you evaluate your nurse aides and what ongoing training do they receive?"
- "What is your current medication error rate, and what have you changed to bring errors down?"
- "Can I see where garbage is stored and how often it's removed?"
- "How do you decide you have enough staff and resources for your resident population, including nights and weekends?"
- "What is your current ratio of nursing staff to residents on day, evening, and weekend shifts?"
- "Can I see the results and plan of correction from your most recent state inspection?"
Nearby facilities (within 20 miles)
| Facility | Distance | City | Overall | Inspection | Flags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Nursing Care Center, INC | 0.3 mi | Arverne, NY | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Ocean Gardens Care Center | 1.0 mi | Arverne, NY | ★☆☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Resort Nursing Home | 1.0 mi | Arverne, NY | ★★★☆☆ | 4/5 | |
| Far Rockaway Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing | 1.1 mi | Far Rockaway, NY | ★★★★☆ | 3/5 | |
| Peninsula Nursing and Rehabilitation Center | 1.1 mi | Far Rockaway, NY | ★★☆☆☆ | 1/5 | |
| Bezalel Rehabilitation and Nursing Center | 1.1 mi | Far Rockaway, NY | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Beach Gardens Rehabilitation and Nursing Center | 1.1 mi | Far Rockaway, NY | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | abuse |
| Premier Nursing and Rehab Center of Far Rockaway | 1.3 mi | Far Rockaway, NY | ★★★☆☆ | 3/5 | |
| Queens Nassau Rehabilitation and Nursing Center | 1.5 mi | Far Rockaway, NY | ★★☆☆☆ | 2/5 | |
| Brookhaven Rehab & Health Care Center L L C | 1.5 mi | Far Rockaway, NY | ★★★☆☆ | 2/5 |
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Facility data as of CMS processing date 2026-08-01. CCN 335571.