Staff, residents, and families are seeking answers after employees at one of Long Island's largest nursing and rehabilitation centers said it may be forced to close by the end of the year.

"I have a family to feed," 20-year Cold Spring Hills employee Nirlende Dieuveuil said. "It's a holiday."

"I didn't expect that," 14-year Cold Spring Hills employee Esther Fede said.

Half a dozen employees at Cold Spring Hills Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation told News 12 on Tuesday they received emails saying layoffs would begin as early as Monday, Dec. 23.

"When I checked my email they said December 31 the place is going to be closed," said 4-year Cold Spring Hills employee Cherlyle Henry.

“I don’t know if he’ll live through this,” the brother of one resident told News 12.

A person familiar with Cold Spring’s plan tells News 12 the facility is in dire financial straits and says Cold Spring Acquisition is attempting to do a temporary emergency evacuation of residents if the appointment of a receiver takes too long.

Several said there are plans to begin moving residents out of the 588-bed facility in Woodbury before shuttering the troubled center by the end of the year.

"What are they going to do with the patients? In two weeks," Henry asked.

The facility has been under scrutiny following a 2022 lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James that claimed Cold Spring Hills diverted $23 million in Medicaid and Medicare funds from resident care through a fraudulent network of companies that were used to conceal up-front profit taking.

The lawsuit alleged that long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the owners repeatedly cut staffing at the 588-bed facility, which created poor working conditions and endangered residents.

In a statement, 1199SEIU President George Gresham told News 12: “It is shameful how the millionaire owners of Cold Spring Hills have treated residents and caregivers over the past years—running this once-proud institution into the ground. Cold Spring Hills’ owners, one of whom just sold a Florida home for $25 million to a soccer superstar, are now forcing over 300 vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities out of their home during the holidays, while laying off hundreds of workers. We are focused on doing everything possible to assist our members, residents, and their families during this transition."

Facility management has not yet responded to multiple requests for comment.

The New York Department of Health has several guidelines that facilities must follow before they can close their doors for good. Yesterday, a DOH spokesperson said they haven't received nor approved a relocation plan for Cold Spring Hills residents.

Today, a spokesperson responded to reports that a third party was in the process of buying the facility to keep it open.

Gresham is expected to visit the facility tomorrow to discuss next steps.