What went wrong with nursing homes and COVID?

Who is to blame for the surge in COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents?

Some are calling for an independent investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's directive forcing nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients from hospitals. The order was meant to free up hospital beds for the sickest patients as cases soared, yet the virus ran rampant through nursing homes.

Cuomo reversed the order under pressure May 10, long after New York's death toll in care homes had climbed to among the highest in the nation.

"From the beginning of this pandemic, the Governor and Commissioner of Health have acknowledged nursing homes as Ground Zero for COVID-19," stated Sen. Pam Helming, R-Canandaigua, in a release earlier this month. "Yet, little has been done to protect the vulnerable residents living in these facilities. It is imperative that an independent investigation is conducted and the state be held responsible for their lack of actions."

Helming and other Senate Republicans are also seeking an immediate change in policy to create regionally based, specialty long-term care facilities for COVID-19 positive nursing home residents.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan effort is underway to learn from past mistakes and improve practices -- to better protect nursing homes for the future. Toward this end, Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-New York, chair of the Assembly Committee on Health, announced public hearings next month.

"Many observers believe government policies and provider practices, in place long before and during COVID-19, contributed to these bad outcomes within the long term care community," stated Gottfried.

"According to the Department of Health, as of July 13, 2020, there were approximately 6,300 individuals who have died or are presumed to have died of COVID-19 who resided in residential health care facilities (i.e., nursing homes), representing approximately 25% of the total COVID-19 fatalities in the state of New York."

The state Department of Health "has not disclosed the number of nursing home residents who were transferred to a hospital because of COVID-19 and died there. Data for deaths among home care patients is unknown," according to the release.

Gottfried stated the hearings are to review the impact of government policies and practices, including staffing levels, funding, and DOH enforcement of quality and safety standards. The hearings will also review developments including distribution of critical medical supplies such as personal protective equipment, or PPE, and regulations implemented during the state of emergency.

"We need to understand what got us into this situation and to identify what steps can be taken to improve things for the future," he stated.

In Ontario County, all but four of the 34 deaths from COVID-19 are associated with a nursing home: 19 from the Elm Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canandaigua and 11 from the Ontario Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Hopewell.

Anyone can request to testify by filling out an online form. The public hearings on Aug. 3 and Aug. 10 can be watched live. The form and more information can be found at https://bit.ly/3g8RtGW.

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