A 72-year-old former patient at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn says she became sick after being placed in a room with "filthy mold" following heart surgery earlier this year.

Kathleen Davis said she was in a private third-floor room in April at the hospital when she began to have serious difficulty breathing, which she said was caused by mold.

"It was a disaster," Davis said during a recent telephone interview from her Brookville home. "The room was dirty and smelled of mold and mildew."

Jeffery Hammond, a spokesman for the state Health Department, said the state has opened an investigation into the allegation.

Paul Barry, director of public affairs at St. Francis, said the hospital was looking into the matter. He would not confirm or deny whether Davis was a patient at the hospital.

"We take matters of patient satisfaction seriously," Barry said. "Privacy laws restrict us from confirming or denying a patient at the hospital."

Davis said after she complained to hospital officials about the air quality, a respiratory therapist examined her but could not find anything wrong.

"Finally, I just had to tell them to keep the window open so I could breathe," Davis said. "I dozed off and woke up choking to death because somebody had come and closed the window."

Davis said she looked forward to talking with state and hospital officials about the conditions she endured.

"I got the runaround when I called before," Davis said. "Something needs to be done."

Davis called Newsday after she said she didn't get a response from the state Health Department.

In October, the state Health Department cited the hospital for several minor code violations, stemming from water damage to ceiling tiles in the intensive care unit.

That investigation was triggered by an anonymous letter by an unidentified employee who feared the water-soaked ceiling tiles and heat ventilation system would release "mold spores into the entire hospital."

The hospital was found to be clean and not contaminated with mold spores, but the state investigator dispatched on Oct. 27 issued four separate violations, all involving water-stain damage to the ceiling in the intensive care unit.

Barry said previously that the problem was caused by leaks in the hospital roof caused by heavy rains and all repairs had been made.

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