A view of a patient being driven from a nursing home in Flushing Queens New York USA during a coronavirus pandemic on April 22, 2020.
John Nacion | NurPhoto | Getty Images
The New York Department of Health has reported Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50%, according to a new report published Thursday by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The 76-page report comes after a months-long investigation by the attorney general’s office into allegations that nursing homes did not comply with coronavirus safety protocols.
The investigation found that the number of deaths in Covid among nursing homes in some facilities increased by more than 50% after residents who died in the hospital were counted. The state’s official death toll from Covid-19 in nursing homes excludes patients who died after being transported to a hospital.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been criticized for failing to disclose the total number of nursing homes deceased to Covid-19. In her comprehensive report, James, also a Democrat, found that “many residents of nursing homes in Covid-19 died in hospitals after being transferred from their nursing homes, which is not reflected in DOH’s total data on nursing homes.”
Cuomo’s representatives did not immediately return CNBC’s request for comment on the findings.
The findings of the attorney general make her directly at odds with the governor, who regularly boasted of the state’s response to the coronavirus. Cuomo also criticized a policy of health departments that ordered nursing homes to accept residents who tested positive for the coronavirus. The governor has repeatedly defended the government’s response to the pandemic, saying the state is poorly supported by an improper federal government caught off guard by importing the virus.
James’ findings are based on a survey of 62 nursing homes, or about 10% of the nursing homes in the state. She said her office is continuing to investigate discrepancies in the data reported by the health department and the numbers to the attorney general’s office.
The study also found that a number of nursing homes do not comply with ‘critical infection policies’ such as not isolating residents who tested positive for the virus.
“As the pandemic and our investigation continue, it is imperative that we understand why the residents of New York City’s nursing homes have suffered unnecessarily at such a alarming rate,” James said in a statement. “While we cannot bring back the individuals we lost to this crisis, this report seeks to provide transparency that the public deserves and to encourage increasing action to protect our most vulnerable residents.”
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