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9,000 COVID-19 Hospital Patients Were Discharged To NY Nursing Homes: Report
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Feb 11, 2021
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Mark Lennihan/AP/Shutterstock
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Feb 11, 2021
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More than 9,000 nursing home residents hospitalized for COVID-19 were sent back to their nursing homes while still recovering from the disease, The Associated Press reported late Thursday.
The new data, obtained by the AP, revealed just how many patients were transferred under a New York state order that has led to sharp criticism of Governor Andrew Cuomo for potentially exacerbating the number of elderly people who died in New York during the pandemic.
The data the AP obtained showed 9,056 patients were discharged across hundreds of nursing homes. The news outlet reported that this figure is 40% higher than what the state health department had previously admitted.
Many have blamed the state directive for spikes in overall fatalities at long-term care facilities. Even though the order called for isolating the recovering residents, it still required nursing homes to take in people who were COVID-19 positive. Governor Andrew Cuomo partially lifted that order in May, while instituting a requirement for a negative test instead.
Through a Freedom of Information request in May, the AP confirmed an earlier count that showed 6,327 patients were admitted directly from hospitals to nursing homes. But another 2,729 people were readmitted from a hospital to a nursing home where they previously lived, which comprised the new count.
The data dump comes on the heels of Attorney General Letitia James’s findings that fatalities may have been undercounted by 50% in nursing home data from the state health department. In the AG’s report, for instance, one facility reported 29 more deaths to the attorney general than to the state. More than 15,000 people living in adult care facilities died from the disease, according to updated totals that State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker sent to Senate Democrats.
The New York Post reported late Thursday his top aide, Melissa DeRosa, privately admitted to state lawmakers that the state had not been as forthcoming with nursing home deaths because of fear of federal investigation and pressure from the Trump administration. “[B]asically, we froze,” she reportedly told lawmakers on a private call obtained by the Post.
A state health department analysis from last summer found the spread of COVID-19 was mostly caused by staff and people visiting facilities, not residents hospitalized with coronavirus.
Zucker reiterated past statements that the March directive was in line with federal guidelines.
“At least 98% of nursing home facilities in the state had COVID in their facility before their first admission or readmission, and as we’ve seen across the nation, the major driver of infections appears to be from asymptomatic staff through no fault of their own,” he said in a statement.
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COVID-19
governor cuomo
coronavirus
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Sydney Pereira
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