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Cuomo Facing Backlash For ‘Reckless & Careless’ Act Resulting In So Many COVID-19 Deaths

Cuomo Facing Backlash For ‘Reckless & Careless’ Act Resulting In So Many COVID-19 Deaths

The last week of March patients were transferred to Gurwin Jewish Nursing and Rehabilitation Center because of a New York State mandate that required nursing homes to take patients infected with COVI-19, even if they were still contagious.

The nursing home in Long Island on had one known case at the time and that person was in isolation said, the facility’s president, Stuart Almer said.

A month later, the facility was being ravaged by the coronavirus, 24 residents died – only three were hospital transfers – and one staff member who worked in housekeeping. The nursing home is still being mandated to take cases from the hospital despite there not being a shortage of beds.

“We can’t say for sure” whether the virus has spread because of the patients transferred under the state mandate, Almer said. “But it’s certainly not helping the situation.”

Three of the states hit hardest by the pandemic all – New York, New Jersey, and California – all had similar orders. The original intent of the policy was to keep beds open so a hospital would not be overwhelmed however, that never happened. 

“Nursing homes are working so hard to keep the virus out, and now we’re going to be introducing new COVID-positive patients?” asked David Grabowski, a professor of health policy at Harvard Medical School. Instead, he believes that states should create COVID-only facilities for recovering patients discharged from hospitals.

“The existing places that can really do this safely in terms of staffing and building space to keep them separate are in the minority,” he added.

Wisely, Christina Peredo took her 96-year-old grandfather out of the facility when she first learned of the policy in March.

“To make this a mandate without exploring other options, what you’re saying is, ‘Sorry, you’ve lived a good life,’” Peredo, 35, a nurse, said. “It’s reckless and careless.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is beginning to come under fire for not softening his mandate as California did. NBC News reported:

“The state not only has more coronavirus cases than anywhere in the country, but also the highest number of known long-term care deaths — at least 3,500 — related to the virus, according to the state health department. A broad swath of nursing homes across the state have already accepted COVID-positive hospital patients in compliance with the mandate, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has openly criticized facilities for opposing it.

“They don’t have a right to object. That is the rule and that is the regulation, and they have to comply with that,” Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a Thursday news conference. “If they can’t do it, we’ll put them in a facility that can do it.”

It’s no wonder Governor Cuomo is going to want a state and local government bailout from the federal government, he’s about to get sued like he’s never been sued before.

NBC News

Written by Staff Writer - April 26, 2020