Acting Albany Supreme Court Justice Kimberly O’Connor is blasting away at the Health Department in the Cuomo administration for covering up the true number of nursing home deaths. They had decided to only count the people who actually died in the nursing homes.
Those who became ill in the nursing homes but taken to a hospital where they died were not counted. We now know they badly undercounted the deaths in nursing homes in the state.
There has been much debate on whether New York’s idiotic decision to sent Covid patients to nursing homes was responsible for thousands of deaths.
I mean, you take people with a highly contagious disease and you move them in with the most vulnerable people in America and people die. Who could have seen that coming?
The funny part?
Cuomo blamed Trump for Cuomo’s own actions.
Directives from the Health Department include:
During this global health emergency, all NHs [nursing homes] must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals to NHs.
and
No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.
In 2018, as Governor Andrew Cuomo faced a challenge to his reelection bid in the New York State Democratic primary, he got a last minute $1m cash infusion from the General New York Hospital Association (GNYHA)—a powerful NY healthcare industry group. On April 2, 2020, he repaid the favor when he quietly signed legislation shielding hospital and nursing home executives from any lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. The clauses, inserted into the annual budget bill by Cuomo, gave blanket immunity protections for healthcare industry executive and administrators, the same individuals and institutions that have made a fortune moving sick Covid-19 patients to nursing homes.
The GNYHA gave to the Democrats an unheard of $3 million in the 2018 election cycle. Of this, Cuomo and his state party committee received close to $2.3m from various hospitals and nursing home industry donors. Governor Cuomo returned the favor with his directive forcing COVID-19 patients back into elderly homes. This directive provided a massive increase in revenues to organizations associated with the GNYHA who were paid handsomely for COVID patients. It was a bonanza for these entities.
