Photo Courtesy of Mike Groll/Office of the Governor
Nursing homes and adult care facilities “get paid to take care of a resident and they have to do it in accordance with State rules; and if they don’t we will take appropriate action,” Gov. Cuomo said.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The City has surged supplies and staff to nursing homes across the five boroughs, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.
This week, the administration noted that it increased its weekly shipment by at least 50 percent, adding to the more than 40,000 N95 masks; 800,000 surgical face masks; 40,000 face shields; 1.5 million gloves; and at least 105,000 gowns or coveralls that went to all 169 nursing homes across the city earlier this month.
To meet urgent staffing needs in nursing homes across the city, the City has sent 210 clinical staff volunteers to 40 nursing homes. The City has pledged to double this amount, bringing the total number of personnel to more than 420.
In addition to providing personal protective equipment and clinical staff, City officials said the administration has provided nursing homes with up-to-date guidance on isolation and testing procedures. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has continued to work with providers to implement this guidance and troubleshoot as necessary.
To ensure the needs of nursing homes are continually met for the duration of the crisis, the City has set up a task force to work with approximately half of all nursing homes to collect data on staffing, PPE, decedent management, and any other needs, de Blasio noted.
The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged New York nursing homes and adult care facilities, killing at least 3,650 residents. According to the State Department of Health, Queens leads all 62 New York counties with 790 COVID-19 deaths at borough nursing homes.
Additionally, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday that DOH is partnering with State Attorney General Tish James to investigate nursing homes that violate executive orders requiring these facilities to communicate COVID-19 test results and deaths to residents’ families.
Cuomo also announced a new directive requiring nursing homes to immediately report to DOH the actions they have taken to comply with all DOH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laws, regulations, directives and guidance. DOH will inspect facilities that have not complied with these directives, including separation and isolation policies, staffing policies and inadequate personal protective equipment, and if DOH determines that the facilities failed to comply with the directives and guidance, the agency will immediately require the facility to submit an action plan. Facilities could be fined $10,000 per violation or potentially lose their operating license.
“We’re going to undertake an investigation of nursing homes now to make sure they’re following the rules,” Cuomo said. “They get paid to take care of a resident and they have to do it in accordance with State rules; and if they don’t we will take appropriate action. The State Department of Health and the attorney general are going to be commencing an investigation to make sure all of those policies are in place and being followed. If they’re not being followed, they can be subjected to a fine or they can lose their license. It’s that simple.”
