LANSING (WWJ) - Michigan legislators debated the accuracy of a recent report about COVID-19 deaths in long term care facilities in a state House and Senate hearing on Thursday afternoon.
The report -- summarized by members of the Auditor General's office and released earlier this week -- claimed that nursing homes vastly underreported the number of residents who died as a result of COVID-19.
Auditor General Douglas Ringler believes over 8,000 people died of COVID in long-term care facilities across the state versus the 5,675 deaths that Michigan health officials originally disclosed.
Elizabeth Hertel, Director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), disputed the findings of the Auditor General and stated the guidelines for reporting nursing home deaths was unclear.
"Because there is no standard definition of an assistant living facility, we don't actually don't know who is an assisted living facility," Hertel said to lawmakers.
Hertel explained the discrepancies came down to a difference of language --the auditor's report used a different definition of a nursing home and counted deaths from other facilities that the health department had not.
"So I think if you define [an assistant living facility], it would be incredibly helpful to provide direction moving forward."
Republican lawmakers, like Rep. Jack O'Malley, R-Lake Anne, accused MDHHS of refusing to take responsibility for its mistakes and criticized public health officials for not conducting a more thorough report.
"Did anybody say, 'well there are others out there that haven't reported, should we get on the phone and call some of these people to get a little more data?'" he questioned.
"Because I think that's where you failed."
Other lawmakers raised questions about the effectiveness of the department's COVID protocols at nursing homes.
"It's very, very clear that thousands of people were subjected to COVID positive people in the most vulnerable populations," Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton, said during the hearing.
Theis' remarks come hours after Hertel ordered nursing homes to offer on-site booster shots to residents who are not fully vaccinated.
Hertel completed a 90 minute testimony as the hearing continued well into Thursday afternoon.
