Congresswoman Elise Stefanik joined with Members of the NY Delegation to send a letter urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to investigate New York State’s adherence to appropriate safety and health guidance for nursing homes and long-term care facilities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
This request comes after New York State issued uncertain and shifting policy guidance on providing care for some of the most vulnerable in our communities at nursing homes statewide. This included encouraging facilities to accept patients who have been previously diagnosed with COVID-19, and at one point, allowing asymptomatic COVID-19 caregivers to attend to residents. Additionally, without sufficient state-provided personal protective equipment (PPE), healthcare workers have been at a significantly higher risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.
Congresswoman Stefanik was joined in sending this letter to HHS and CMS by a number of the members of the NY Congressional delegation, including Rep. Tom Reed who represents a portion of the Western New York region
“Throughout this public health crisis, I have repeatedly urged New York State to carefully consider our most vulnerable older populations whom often reside in nursing homes and long-term care facilities,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “Many of the state’s policies have put not only the residents of these facilities, but also those who care for them, at risk of direct exposure to COVID-19. I am joining my colleagues to urge HHS and CMS to review the efficacy of Governor Cuomo and New York State’s COVID-19 guidance for these facilities and provide more information and federal oversight. It is imperative that we protect our seniors, who deserve safe, reliable housing and care, from exposure to COVID-19 whenever possible. I will continue to advocate on their behalf throughout this crisis.”
Cuomo announced new policy this past week ordering that New York nursing homes must start twice-weekly coronavirus testing for all staffers and will no longer be sent COVID-19 patients leaving hospitals
The new testing requirements and ban on hospitals sending coronavirus patients to nursing homes came a day after an AP report in which residents’ relatives, nursing home watchdogs and politicians from both parties criticized the Cuomo administration’s policies on both.
They second-guessed a state directive as requiring nursing homes to take on new residents infected with COVID-19 — an order that critics said accelerated outbreaks in facilities that are prime breeding grounds for infectious diseases.
Of the nation’s more than 26,600 coronavirus deaths in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, a fifth of them — over 5,350 — are in New York, according to a count by The Associated Press.
That’s the highest number of nursing home deaths in the country, though other states have also struggled to control the virus in nursing facilities. Indeed, they account for a higher percentage of coronavirus deaths in most other states, Cuomo said.
Critics have faulted New York for taking weeks to release the number of deaths in individual homes, for still not releasing the number of cases and for not conducting or requiring widespread testing in the facilities.
Now, workers will be tested twice a week, Cuomo said at a news briefing. Residents are being tested as much as possible, he said.
A March 25 state health department directive said nursing homes couldn’t refuse new or returning residents because they tested positive for the virus. The policy, similar to one in neighboring New Jersey, was intended to help free up hospital beds for the sickest patients as cases surged.
Now, “we’re just not going to send a person who is positive to a nursing home after a hospital visit,” Cuomo said Sunday. He said such patients would be accommodated elsewhere, such as sites originally set up as temporary hospitals.
The new policy still allows nursing homes to take some people with COVID-19, such as those who are at home and need care. But hospitals are responsible for finding alternatives for the patients they discharge, and nursing facilities shouldn’t take on coronavirus patients if unable to care for them, Cuomo said.
The Democrat also emphasized that nursing homes should transfer any person they can’t care for.
Stephen Hanse, president and CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association and New York State Center for Assisted Living, said the long-term care industry groups approve of Cuomo’s new nursing home policy and his testing directive. But he said state assistance will be needed to increase on-site availability of testing for employees.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and lead to death.