New York Attorney General Letitia James’ report on how the coronavirus has affected nursing homes in the state has a sore spot for government Andrew Cuomo, who has been criticized by state lawmakers over the aspect of his management of the pandemic.
According to the report, the death toll from coronavirus attributed to nursing homes has been underestimated by about 50%. It asked Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to say after the release that, in addition to the 8,914 people who died at the Covid-19 nursing home, according to the health department, another 3,829 residents of the nursing home died of the disease after going to hospitals. was taken.
The document, released Thursday, re-educated the legislature pushing for an investigation into the deaths. Republicans and some Democrats said the state’s monthly refusal to say how many nursing home residents died in hospitals had an incomplete picture of what happened and how the policy should change.
Dr Zucker said the Department of Health accurately recorded the deaths where they occurred, and that data on hospital transfers were accurate.
Republicans said the state was engaged in a cover-up, and they used the point to persuade Mr. Cuomo to attack. Republicans criticized a March 25 Department of Health directive that says nursing homes cannot turn patients away because they tested positive for coronavirus.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James recommends standardized public reporting on deaths in Covid-19 in nursing homes.
Photo:
Kathy Willens / Associated Press
According to James’ report, the survey of such residents may have contributed to an increased risk of infection and fatal deaths, but additional data analysis is needed. The report recommends that standardized public reporting on deaths in Covid-19 in nursing homes, the required staffing levels at nursing homes be established and a liability shield for nursing homes enacted in April be repealed.
Rich Azzopardi, a senior adviser to the governor, said the report said the order was in line with federal guidance on March 25 and that homes should have been taken up by residents only if they could provide proper care.
“We are committed to fighting this pandemic and getting the vaccines and funding to New Yorkers that are needed and what they deserve from Washington,” he said.
The report was also the first time that Ms. James, who was elected in 2018, mr. Cuomo put in the defense, veterans of the Attorney General’s Office and political observers said. The result, according to them, could be a rocky relationship with Mr. Cuomo means, a fellow Democrat who endorsed her 2018 election offer and helped her raise funds.
“It’s clearly a borderline where she’s declaring her political independence,” said Dennis Vacco, a former state prosecutor general, a Republican who was in office from 1995 to 1999.
He said the report was “astonishing and encouraging” because it was a sensitive point for Mr. Cuomo emphasized it. “She kicked him in the Achilles’ heel now,” he said. Vacco said.
State lawmakers in both parties have doubled their calls for a more thorough investigation into what caused the deaths of nursing homes. Lawmakers have said they expect dr. Zucker will be controversial during a budget hearing in February.
Covid-19 hits New York’s nursing homes
Mr. Cuomo told a news conference on Friday that it was not relevant to residents of nursing homes, and that he was not familiar with legislation to withdraw liability protection. He said Republicans, including former Trump administration officials, are politicizing the issue. Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, a Republican from Niagara County, said the report by Ms. James shows that concerns about nursing homes are not biased.
Me. James’ office has a permanent authority to investigate nursing homes. Her spokeswoman said Cuomo requested an investigation in April and that the report was written based on what was found. Most of the 76-page documents spoke of shortcomings in nursing homes, including the failure to follow infection control protocols and problems exacerbated by staff shortages.
“The findings – available to all to investigate – are the result of painstaking efforts by dedicated investigators and lawyers,” said spokeswoman Delaney Kempner. “Injecting politics will be an insult and take away from all the hard work of the professionals in this office.”
Former Attorney General Robert Abrams, a Democrat, said tensions between any Attorney General and governor were inevitable. Mr. Cuomo and former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman have had several public discussions about jurisdiction and settlement funds.
A 2007 report on the misuse of state police aircraft in power at the time. Eliot Spitzer, who was wanted by the then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, eventually caused problems for the Spitzer government, which became known as ‘Troopergate’.
Mr. Abrams reiterates the old political view that the abbreviation of Attorney General, AG, actually stands for aspiring governor, noting Messrs. Spitzer and Cuomo’s paths to power.
Several political staff members said they did not believe James. Cuomo would not be challenged if he were re-elected in 2022. Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran political consultant, said the report would only increase her status.
“She was able to cover national news by tackling Trump’s investigations and the NRA,” he said. “This is, of course, someone who has long-term plans, and what better way to make those plans come true is to show that you can even pull with a national player in the Democratic Party?”
THE QUESTION: Several attorneys general in New York became governor. Who was the last former attorney general in New York to elect him president?
–Do you know the answer? Send me an email!
THE LAST ANSWER: The New York state legislature has never successfully violated a veto issued by Governor Mario Cuomo during his three terms in office.
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