The US Justice Department has opened a preliminary inquiry into the coronavirus nursing home policies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan that it …
The US Justice Department has opened a preliminary inquiry into the coronavirus nursing home policies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan that it says “may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents.” The Justice Dept. release says the state “required nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients to their vulnerable populations, often without adequate testing.” The Justice Dept. particularly honed in on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker’s controversial March 25 order that required nursing homes accept recovering COVID-19 residents discharged from hospitals while barring the facilities from screening them for the killer bug. The release even quotes from New York’s order which stated: “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to [a nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. [Nursing homes] are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.” Cuomo rescinded the March 25 nursing home order after facing a firestorm of criticism. “Protecting the rights of some of society’s most vulnerable members, including elderly nursing home residents, is one of our country’s most important obligations. We must ensure they are adequately cared for with dignity and respect and not unnecessarily put at risk,” said Eric Dreiban, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. State Health Department data says there’s been 6,453 confirmed or presumed nursing home deaths from COVID-19. Critics point out that figure does not include potentially thousands of nursing home residents who contracted the virus and were transported to hospitals and died.
