Back in May we reported that New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo, Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, MD and Executive Deputy Commissioner Sally Dreslin’s actions led to thousands of deaths in New York state.
Yaacov Apelbaum at the Illustrated Primer shared that these New York politicians are accountable for thousands of nursing home deaths because of their insane directives related to the China coronavirus.
Apelbaum first pointed out the ludicrous directive from New York’s Department of Health, including:
During this global health emergency, all NHs [nursing homes] must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals to NHs.
and:
No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. NHs are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.
As we reported in May, the reason for the Cuomo’s insane directives is related to money:
In 2018, as Governor Andrew Cuomo faced a challenge to his reelection bid in the New York State Democratic primary, he got a last minute $1m cash infusion from the General New York Hospital Association (GNYHA)—a powerful NY healthcare industry group. On April 2, 2020, he repaid the favor when he quietly signed legislation shielding hospital and nursing home executives from any lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. The clauses, inserted into the annual budget bill by Cuomo, gave blanket immunity protections for healthcare industry executive and administrators, the same individuals and institutions that have made a fortune moving sick Covid-19 patients to nursing homes.
The GNYHA gave to the Democrats an unheard of $3 million in the 2018 election cycle. Of this, Cuomo and his state party committee received close to $2.3m from various hospitals and nursing home industry donors. Governor Cuomo returned the favor with his directive forcing COVID-19 patients back into elderly homes. This directive provided a massive increase in revenues to organizations associated with the GNYHA who were paid handsomely for COVID patients. It was a bonanza for these entities.
The impact of this decision on elderly New Yorkers in nursing homes is the elderly in these nursing homes spread the disease and died. They died at the worst rate in the country and the world.
The Gateway Pundit reported numerous times that the mortality rates for the China coronavirus are not much worse than a bad flu season across the US with the exception of New York and New Jersey. The death rates in these areas are way above the rest of the country and the world for that matter. It is clear that Governor Cuomo’s policies in New York led to the unnecessary massive number of deaths in the state.
But today we have to report that it is even worse. Cuomo’s insane and deadly policies not only targeted nursing homes, they also targeted adult care facilities and group homes for people with disabilities.
The March 25 nursing home edict issued by the New York state (NYS) Department of Health (DOH) is NOT the only order NYS enacted, which mandated that Covid-19 infected patients got sent into congregate care facilities from hospitals. NYS ALSO sent COVID-19 infected patients into adult care facilities (ACFs) and into group homes managed under the NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).
ACFs serve older people who have medical needs, but do not require nursing home care. NYS OPWDD serves individuals who acquired a disability before the age of 22. Examples of covered disabilities include, but are not limited to: autism, mental retardation, brain injury, Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy. Some of these individuals (who can be any age, including seniors, as long as they acquired their disability before age 22) are among New York’s most vulnerable.
There is also regulatory language which shows that the state was (and likely still is) allowing COVID-19 infected staff to continue to work with these individuals! Families have not been able to resume visitation rights and have not seen their child or adult child since March. This is an unbearable hardship for all concerned.
Here are links the directives in New York:
Enacted March 25, 2020, Nursing Homes: https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/03/doh_covid19-_nhadmissionsreadmissions_-032520.pdf
Enacted April 7, 2020, Adult Care Facilities:
https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/04/doh_covid19_acfreturnofpositiveresidents_040720.pdf
(This URL no longer works. Here is the policy: https://web.archive.org/web/20200608212648/https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/04/doh_covid19_acfreturnofpositiveresidents_040720.pdf)
Enacted April 10, 2020, NYS OPWDD Certified Residential Facilities: https://opwdd.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/04/4.11.2020-opwdd_crfreturnfromhospital.pdf (In case the above has been deleted: https://web.archive.org/web/20200531135252/https://opwdd.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2020/04/4.11.2020-opwdd_crfreturnfromhospital.pdf)
Janice Dean from FOX News lost both her parents-in-law to COVID-19 in New York. She wrote an oped on the matter at USA Today. Below is an excellent video that describes the entire deadly scandal:
https://youtu.be/Xz2uLEXLh5E
Last week New York Department of Health Commissioner, Zucker, was in front of the New York Senate and Assembly and he stated (twice) that the Greater New York Hospital Association had nothing to do with the creation of bill text which gave New York State hospitals and nursing homes virtual immunity, including with both COVID and non-COVID patients, retroactive to March 7, 2020. This was passed on April 3, 2020 by Governor Cuomo. Assembly Member Biaggia pointed out to him that the GNYHA placed on its own website a statement that boasted that it had helped write the language for this bill, which Cuomo signed into law the very next day on April 3rd. She stated this GNYHA statement has since been erased from the internet. (link to post here)
Zucker claimed to not have the data as to how many Covid-19 infected people, who were transferred to hospitals from nursing homes, died in those hospitals!
Zucker asked to have more time to get this data accurately assembled. He was asked this question five or six times. He was asked if he knew New York state was the only state which did not gather this data. He refused to acknowledge that fact. Each time, he stated he needed to have time to gather the accurate data, he did not have the data for the Committee members today. He would not answer the question as to why New York state is THE ONLY state which is not gathering this data, which gives New York state the appearance of having a much lower rate of Covid-19 nursing home deaths than ALL other states. He couldn’t answer adequately.
Members accurately pointed out that he had the data for COVID-19 transfers from hospitals to nursing homes (as issue in the recent, July 6th report put out by the New York state DOH) …but did not have the reverse data: how many people were transferred FROM New York state nursing homes to New York state hospitals and who then died (here is that July 6 report).
Zucker claimed to not know that the New York state DOH website had removed the March 25th mandate shown above, while stating at a different point in the hearing that this March 25th order is still in place! It was apparently never revoked.
Zucker CONTINUED to lay the blame for New York’s large nursing home Covid-19 infections and deaths on not only on the federal government, but also on staff infections and UPON FAMILIES!