NY Attorney General Accuses Gov. Cuomo of Undercounting Covid Deaths in Nursing Homes By Up to 50%
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New York State Attorney General Letitia James has accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and his administration of drastically undercounting coronavirus related deaths in nursing homes.
Citing a 76-page report released Thursday, New York Times reporter Jesse McKinley revealed that the administration may have cut the death rate in nursing homes by up to 50 percent.
“Preliminary data obtained by O.A.G. suggests that many nursing home residents died from Covid-19 in hospitals after being transferred from their nursing homes, which is not reflected in D.O.H.’s published total nursing home death data,” reads a summary of the report’s findings.
The attorney general’s office began receiving complaints regarding coronavirus related neglect at nursing as early as March 2020, prompting James to set up a hotline to address any grievances. The office has received more than 770 complaints through August 3, and another 179 complaints through November 16.
Cuomo has continued to stir up controversy when it comes to his handling of the coronavirus at nursing homes, which racked up a death toll of 8,500, according to numbers released by the state.
His administration has been also been accused of hiding the accurate estimate of nursing home deaths, as they only counted deaths in the actual homes and ignored the deaths of those who were transferred to a hospital.
One specific facility, for example, reported 11 deaths to the Health Department, for example, while James’ survey of the same facility found 29 unrecorded deaths, noting that 27 died while at the home and 13 died after being transferred to a hospital.
Her report also discovered that many of homes “failed to comply with critical infection control policies,” including failure to socially distance infected residents.
“As the pandemic and our investigations continue, it is imperative that we understand why the residents of nursing homes in New York unnecessarily suffered at such an alarming rate,” James said in a press release unveiling the report. “While we cannot bring back the individuals we lost to this crisis, this report seeks to offer transparency that the public deserves and to spur increased action to protect our most vulnerable residents.”
