4500 New York patients who tested positive for COVID-19 were sent to nursing homes.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Governor Andrew Cuomo

On May 13 I reported that New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, had just rescinded a policy forcing nursing homes to accept Covid-19 positive patients.

I stated that a policy forcing nursing homes to accept residents who are infected with a deadly virus that spreads was a policy that would lead to many deaths.

On May 22, Bernard Condon, Jennifer Peltz and Jim Mustian reported for the Associated Press that more than 4500 COVID-19 patients were sent to nursing homes in New York. The report stated:

More than 4,500 recovering coronavirus patients were sent to New York’s already vulnerable nursing homes under a controversial state directive that was ultimately scrapped amid criticisms it was accelerating the nation’s deadliest outbreaks, according to a count by The Associated Press.

AP compiled its own tally to find out how many COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals to nursing homes under the March 25 directive after New York’s Health Department declined to release its internal survey conducted two weeks ago. It says it is still verifying data that was incomplete.

The AP article quoted Daniel Arbeeny, who took his 88-year-old father out of a nursing home that had 50 COVID-19 deaths. Arbeeny stated:

“It was the single dumbest decision anyone could make, ...This isn’t rocket science,... We knew the most vulnerable -- the elderly and compromised -- are in nursing homes and rehab centers.”

Gurwin Jewish home.

The AP article reported that nursing homes were flooded with COVID-19 positive residents. 

Gurwin Jewish, a 460-bed home on Long Island, seemed well-prepared for the coronavirus in early March, with movable walls to seal off hallways for the infected. But after the state order, a trickle of recovering COVID-19 patients from local hospitals turned into a flood of 58 people.

More walls were put up, but other residents nonetheless began falling sick and dying. In the end, 47 Gurwin residents died of confirmed or suspected COVID-19.

Tobias Hoonhout, in his article published by the National Review, suggests that the New York Department of Health is hiding the fact that the order existed. Hoonhout wrote:

The New York Department of Health has apparently deleted a March order issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo that forced nursing homes to admit Covid-positive residents.

The order, which was implemented on March 25, stated that “no resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to a nursing home solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19,” and also prohibited nursing homes from requiring testing prior to admission or readmission. But the order is no longer visible on the state’s website.

The AP article reported that the March 25 directive was based on a fear that the hospital system would be overwhelmed.

There must be an independent investigation into the March 25 order by Governor Cuomo that possibly led to thousands of nursing home resident deaths.

A recent Canadian military nursing home report uncovered disturbing conditions. COVID-19 positive residents sharing a room with healthy residents, COVID-19 positive residents wandering the hallways, staff not following infection control rules and more.

Based on the number of COVID-19 New York nursing home deaths, silence is unconscionable,  the truth must be known. 

This may be the worst case of elder abuse in the history of America.