ICYMI: Independent Nursing Home, Hospital & Medical Representatives Support and Validate DOH Report Findings on Covid-19 Infections and Fatalities In Nursing Homes

 https://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2020/2020-07-07_icymi_report_findings.htm

 Reisman: The March 25th order that allowed, that required nursing homes to take in COVID positive patients from hospitals – partially reversed in May – there was something of a criticism that was leveled against the Governor, against the Department of Health, for having this regulation in place. The Governor has called this kind of politically motivated criticism. But I am curious, has that played a factor at all in the fatalities in nursing homes?

Clyne: You know, we never thought that was the driving, or most of my members did not think that was the driving force up for COVID infections in nursing homes. As the report shows, over 80 percent of the nursing homes had already had infections, or that downstate nursing homes already had infections prior to that order. I don't think you can say that not a single person who was taken from a hospital contributed to the infection rate, but the driving force was asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic staff who are working in the facilities not knowing that they were infectious. The other thing that obviously contributed to it was the lack of protective equipment. No one could foresee that there was going to be this shortage of goggles, facemasks, gowns, gloves. That was just not something that we understood was going to happen.