New York comes up with an additional 1,700 nursing home deaths

New York now reports that over 1.700 undisclosed COVID-19 deaths occurred in nursing homes, mostly due to the fact that NY Gov. Andrew "I'm Single Now" Cuomo had coronavirus elderly return to their nursing homes and senior living/adult care facilities in the midst of the pandemic. Now the state faces scrutiny over how it failed to protect our most vulnerable.

No less than 4,813 people have died from Chinese Communist Wuhan Wet Market Coronavirus in the state's nursing homes since March 1, according to a tally released by the incompetent Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration late Monday. For the first time the data includes people believed to have been killed by the coronavirus before their diagnoses could be confirmed by a lab test.

The precise number of nursing home residents who died is unclear despite New York's latest disclosure,  as the list doesn’t include nursing home residents who were transferred to hospitals before dying.

In the above April 17, 2020 photo, a patient is loaded into an ambulance by emergency medical workers outside Cobble Hill Health Center, near Court Street in Brooklyn, New York.

The revised list shows that 22 nursing homes, mostly in New York City and Long Island, have reported at least 40 deaths.

Parker Jewish Institute in Queens and Isabella Geriatric Center — one of New York City’s largest nursing homes with 705 beds — have reported the highest number of deaths: 71 and 64, respectively.

Audrey Waters, a spokeswoman for Isabella Geriatric Center, wrote in an email, "Isabella, like all other nursing homes in New York City, initially had limited access to widespread and consistent in-house testing to quickly diagnose our residents and staff. This hampered our ability to identify those who were infected and asymptomatic, despite our efforts to swiftly separate anyone who presented symptoms.”

In many cases, the state’s new figures reveal many more deaths than previously reported at nursing homes: Isabella Geriatric Center had 13 COVID-19 deaths reported as of May 1, and now reports the deaths of 21 patients who were confirmed to have COVID-19 along with 43 deaths of residents presumed to have COVID-19. And Ozanam Hall of Queens now is reporting a total of 53 deaths, up from just 10.

Several veterans homes have been hard-hit by the virus:  The Long Island State Veterans Home reported 53 deaths, including 48 confirmed and five presumed COVID-19 deaths. The New York State Veterans Home at St. Albans in Queens has reported 33 deaths while New York State Veterans Home at Montrose in Westchester says 22 residents have died.

Cuomo promised on March 2, when only a handful of coronavirus cases had been reported in New York, to make a “special effort” for nursing homes and congregate homes housing senior citizens. He directed nursing homes to screen visitors and consider modifying visiting hours on March 6, which makes no sense at all because the viruses don't own wristwatches.

But Cuomo and his administration screwed up in overseeing and supporting New York’s overwhelmed, state-regulated nursing homes as many have struggled to treat COVID-19 patients or amass enough personal protective gear or ensure adequate staffing.

Advocacy groups for the elderly and family members of nursing home residents have called for greater transparency over COVID-19 cases at each state-regulated nursing home and criticized an April 1 state law granting some immunity to hospitals and nursing homes from civil and criminal liability to protect the administration's incompetency. 

They also questioned the state’s biggest screw up by a March 25 policy that says “no resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to a nursing home solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19."

Brilliant.

The governor and his incompetent administration defended that policy as ensuring nursing home residents that they aren’t left lingering in hospitals to be treated, or have nowhere else to go to die.

Cuomo’s spokesperson tweeted Monday that the policy follows federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidance [they are the government and they're here to help].

However, the federal guidance says only that a nursing home “can accept a resident diagnosed with COVID-19” so long as the nursing home can follow federal guidance on transmission precautions. 

This obviously wasn't thought through very well as the spread within nursing homes was faster than a speeding bullet. But Cuomo keeps making myriad TV appearances in the hope that he will finally be considered a presidential candidate in the future.



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