Was Governor Cuomo Responsible for the Death of Thousands of Nursing Home Inhabitants? American Institute for Economic Research - Ethan Yang:
June 19, 2020 - "The 56th Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo,... has enjoyed a sky-high approval rating due to his leadership during the ongoing [COVID-19] crisis. However, his record is far from stellar. He may have easily committed one of the greatest atrocities of the crisis: Mandating the transfer of over 4,500 COVID-19 patients to nursing homes full of vulnerable and elderly individuals which eventually saw over 6,000 deaths....
"On March 25th, Governor Cuomo issued an executive order forcing nursing homes to receive patients from overflowing hospitals. The order mandates that 'During this global health emergency, all NHs must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals to NHs'. As a result over 4,500 COVID-19 patients were forcibly transferred from hospitals to nursing homes regardless of their capacity to accept them.
"According to the Associated Press, 'New York has not mandated testing in its more than 1,150 nursing homes and long-term care facilities'. In fact, the executive order went further to forbid the required testing of COVID-19 within the facilities. The language was as follows: 'No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission'....
"Cuomo himself had said protecting nursing home residents was the state’s top priority, once calling the threat “fire through dry grass. Cuomo was correct about the vulnerability of nursing homes, as the weeks following the executive order saw 6,000 deaths out of the 100,000 New York citizens inhabiting nursing homes.... Nationwide, more than 45,500 residents and staff have died from coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to a running count by The Associated Press. That’s about 40% of more than 115,000 total deaths. Nursing home residents are less than 1% of the U.S. population....
"On May 10, 2020, the executive order was thankfully rescinded, but the Governor and his officials have certainly mounted a defense of their decision. Pro Publica writes that the state Health Department was lax if not completely uninvolved in monitoring what happened after patients were sent to nursing homes. There are also disputed claims on whether or not the state was even recording deaths in nursing homes until late April....
"Pro Publica states that 'The Cuomo administration would not say who conceived of the order or answer the question of whether it believed the order had led to additional deaths. The administration said the Health Department was conducting 'a thorough review' of COVID-19’s impact on nursing homes....
"During a press conference on May 20 Governor Cuomo ... stated that 'anyone who wants to ask, why did the state do that with COVID patients in nursing homes? It’s because the state followed President Trump’s CDC guidance'.... Politifact determined this statement to be 'mostly false'.... CDC guidance did not call for the mandatory transfer of patients to nursing homes nor did it prohibit further testing for COVID-19. An official at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services cited a March 13 document that clarifies 'A nursing home can accept a resident diagnosed with COVID-19 and still under Transmission Based Precautions for COVID-19 as long as the facility can follow CDC guidance for Transmission-Based Precautions.'"
Read more: https://www.aier.org/article/was-governor-cuomo-responsible-for-the-death-of-thousands-of-nursing-home-inhabitants/
June 19, 2020 - "The 56th Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo,... has enjoyed a sky-high approval rating due to his leadership during the ongoing [COVID-19] crisis. However, his record is far from stellar. He may have easily committed one of the greatest atrocities of the crisis: Mandating the transfer of over 4,500 COVID-19 patients to nursing homes full of vulnerable and elderly individuals which eventually saw over 6,000 deaths....
"On March 25th, Governor Cuomo issued an executive order forcing nursing homes to receive patients from overflowing hospitals. The order mandates that 'During this global health emergency, all NHs must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals to NHs'. As a result over 4,500 COVID-19 patients were forcibly transferred from hospitals to nursing homes regardless of their capacity to accept them.
"According to the Associated Press, 'New York has not mandated testing in its more than 1,150 nursing homes and long-term care facilities'. In fact, the executive order went further to forbid the required testing of COVID-19 within the facilities. The language was as follows: 'No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission'....
"Cuomo himself had said protecting nursing home residents was the state’s top priority, once calling the threat “fire through dry grass. Cuomo was correct about the vulnerability of nursing homes, as the weeks following the executive order saw 6,000 deaths out of the 100,000 New York citizens inhabiting nursing homes.... Nationwide, more than 45,500 residents and staff have died from coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to a running count by The Associated Press. That’s about 40% of more than 115,000 total deaths. Nursing home residents are less than 1% of the U.S. population....
"On May 10, 2020, the executive order was thankfully rescinded, but the Governor and his officials have certainly mounted a defense of their decision. Pro Publica writes that the state Health Department was lax if not completely uninvolved in monitoring what happened after patients were sent to nursing homes. There are also disputed claims on whether or not the state was even recording deaths in nursing homes until late April....
"Pro Publica states that 'The Cuomo administration would not say who conceived of the order or answer the question of whether it believed the order had led to additional deaths. The administration said the Health Department was conducting 'a thorough review' of COVID-19’s impact on nursing homes....
"During a press conference on May 20 Governor Cuomo ... stated that 'anyone who wants to ask, why did the state do that with COVID patients in nursing homes? It’s because the state followed President Trump’s CDC guidance'.... Politifact determined this statement to be 'mostly false'.... CDC guidance did not call for the mandatory transfer of patients to nursing homes nor did it prohibit further testing for COVID-19. An official at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services cited a March 13 document that clarifies 'A nursing home can accept a resident diagnosed with COVID-19 and still under Transmission Based Precautions for COVID-19 as long as the facility can follow CDC guidance for Transmission-Based Precautions.'"
Read more: https://www.aier.org/article/was-governor-cuomo-responsible-for-the-death-of-thousands-of-nursing-home-inhabitants/
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