by: George Stockburger
ALBANY, N.Y. (WEMT) – Following a call from former Governor George Pataki,
members of the New York State Senate Republican Conference are also
calling for an independent investigation of the state’s response to
COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
The Senators say Governor Cuomo and the state Department of Health
“have mandated that nursing homes admit COVID-19 positive patients into
their facilities, a directive that has imported the virus into places
that house New York’s most vulnerable.”
Senate Republicans are also calling for an immediate change in policy
to create regionally based specialty long-term care facilities for
COVID-19 positive nursing home residents.
“Our nursing homes, their staff, and their residents, who are really a
family, are on the absolute front lines of this pandemic, and they need
our strong and enduring support. We know that allowing COVID into a
nursing home is an invitation for it to spread, and we need to make sure
that we take necessary steps to protect residents. We also believe that
an independent investigation into the state’s actions is warranted to
make sure that the tragic deaths at these nursing homes never occur
again,” said Senate Republican Leader John J. Flanagan.
On Tuesday evening Governor Pataki called for a federal investigation
into the state’s response, saying the Center for Disease Control or
Health and Human Services should lead the investigation after over 1,700
unreported nursing home deaths came to light.
The state’s reporting of nursing home deaths has been behind county reports, including Steuben County where approximately 20 nursing home deaths were not reported by the state weeks after the county’s initial report.
“When your loved one enters a nursing home, you expect them to be
safe — safer than they are even in their own homes. Many of these
facilities are going above and beyond to protect residents while the
state’s response to the crisis in nursing homes has been wholly
inadequate. Instead of scapegoating, or threatening blanket
receivership, the state needs to step up to the plate, and do all that
it can to support these facilities to ensure that residents are
receiving the highest quality of care. Weeks ago, I released a plan that
would create an independent council to enforce transparency in
facilities and concentrate COVID-19 patients in separate specialty care
centers. The state needs to take these proposals seriously and act
immediately to protect residents and give families peace of mind,” said
Senator Sue Serino, Ranking Member of the Senate’s Aging Committee.
“An independent investigation is the only way to ensure transparency
and find out what happened in these nursing homes and why. Residents
and families deserve answers that can only be found through an
investigation by impartial experts. It is inappropriate for the
Department of Health to lead a probe into its own procedures,” said
Senator Patrick Gallivan, Ranking Member of the Senate’s Health
Committee.
Full Article & Source:
New York State Senators call for independent investigation of state’s response to nursing home deaths
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