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With the lawsuit, Ms. James seeks to prevent new resident admission, install monitors to oversee the facility's operations and finances, and ban existing or hidden owners from their roles. New York was hit hard in the early days of the pandemic, and until recently the state led the country in Covid-19 deaths. It had recorded 47,301 as of Wednesday, second only to California's 47,670 deaths, according to the most recent NBC News data.
At that point, 59 Democrats within the Senate and Assembly had signed onto a statement demanding Cuomo's resignation. Prior to the report released by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Andrew Cuomo had received the International Emmy Founders Award from the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his COVID-19 press briefings. On August 24, 2021, the Academy revoked his award, due to sexual harassment allegations, however, and not due to the nursing home scandal. As politicians, health experts and federal investigators called for complete figures for the deaths of nursing home residents, the Cuomo administration continued to delay the data’s release, saying more time was need to compile and verify it.
Governor Kathy Hochul
The controversial directive for New York nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients increased the death toll among residents — and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s claims otherwise have been disproven, according to a New York State Bar Association report exclusively obtained by The Post. Data released in late January showedNew Yorkmay have undercounted the number of COVID-19 deaths atnursing homesby more than 50%, solidifying previously reported concerns regarding the Empire State’s pandemic response at such facilities. In July, an internal report from within Cuomo’s office found his March 25 directive that sent thousands of recovering coronavirus patients into nursing homes was "not a significant factor" in the outbreak, stirring criticism. A scathing report from New York Attorney General Letitia James describes how the governor’s office may have undercounted the number of COVID-linked nursing home deaths by more than 50%. Most of New York's deaths came in the early days of the pandemic, when public health officials were trying to figure out how the coronavirus was spreading.
The legislation also protects workers from adverse employment actions, such as disciplinary action or firing, exclusively because of a failure to meet undisclosed speed quotes or quotas that do not allow for proper breaks. More severe restrictions came March 20, when Cuomo ordered all nonessential workers to stay home, barred gatherings of any size and instructed anyone out in public to stay at least 6 feet from other people. A state Health Department spokeswoman added the state is not tracking how many COVID-infected patients were admitted to nursing homes under the directive but homes should not take on new patients if they are “not medically prepared” to meet their needs.
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He claimed that New York state did not cover-up the number of deaths in nursing homes, but acknowledged that officials should have released the information earlier. At no time did anyone threaten to 'destroy' anyone with their 'wrath' nor engage in a ‘cover-up." In June, against the objections of public health officials, Cuomo’s aides lowered the nursing home death estimate in a report due to be issued by the state Department of Health, according to a New York Times report on Thursday.
Critically, New Jersey did not explicitly forbid nursing homes from turning people away based on a positive COVID-19 test. Numerous Democratic lawmakers, including most of the state’s congressional delegation, have called for him to resign. The State Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, has opened an impeachment inquiry. Richard Azzopardi, a top adviser to Cuomo, said the allegations were "insincere efforts to rewrite the past."
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He launched daily COVID-19 press briefings which saw early acclaim, but often announced new pandemic policy and then required health officials "match their health guidance to the announcements." Cuomo issued an order on March 25, 2020 that all New York State nursing homes must accept residents that are medically stable. The order further stated that "o resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19". Attorney Seth DuCharme of the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have launched an investigation into New York state's handling of nursing home deaths.
“Is there a way for us to send our suspected covid cases to the Javitz center or the ship? Cuomo faced criticism at a recent briefing for saying that providing masks and gowns to nursing homes is “not our job” because the homes are privately owned. “Cold Spring Hills’ owners put profits over patient care and left vulnerable New Yorkers to live in heartbreaking and inhumane conditions,” saidJames.
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“Cold Spring Hills’ owners put profits over patient care, and left vulnerable New Yorkers to live in heartbreaking and inhumane conditions,” James said, in a release, adding its owners allegedly received $157 million from Medicaid programs and $88 million from Medicare between 2017 and 2021. "He starts tweeting that we killed everyone in nursing homes," DeRosa reportedly said. "He starts going after [New Jersey Gov. Phil] Murphy, starts going after [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom, starts going after [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer." As of Friday, there were 1,522,785 cases reported in New York, and 45,597 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. Further, there has been a lack of testing in several recent New York outbreaks, including one that killed 98 residents, many of whom died with COVID-19 symptoms without ever being tested.
That suit also lists allegations of abuse, mistreatment and over-the-top staff cuts. Philipson went on in 2019 to found Philosophy Care, a firm that provides services to nursing home facilities providing Alzheimer’s disease care, wound care, physical therapy and stroke recovery. James is suing Cold Spring Realty for financial fraud, claiming the group pocketed $22.5 million through three illegal schemes with Medicaid and Medicare money that was intended to care for Cold Spring residents.
U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik from New York's 21st congressional district called for a federal investigation into the Cuomo administration as early as May 2020. Representative Nicole Malliotakis from New York's 11th congressional district began to circulate a petition calling for Cuomo to resign. Representative Antonio Delgado from New York's 19th congressional district also called for an investigation into Cuomo, saying those who lost loved ones "deserve answers and accountability". Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York's 14th congressional district stated, “I support our state’s return to co-equal governance and stand with our local officials calling for a full investigation of the Cuomo administration’s handling of nursing homes during COVID-19."
The health commissioner instead informed nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that they could call the New Jersey government if it was not possible for them to create separate space for COVID-19-positive residents in their facilities and that the government would find a way to accommodate them. More than 15,000 New Yorkers have died of COVID-19 in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities ― making up roughly one-third of the state’s total deaths. While Gov. Andrew Cuomo was securing a reported $4 million deal to write a book on his pandemic “leadership,” he and his staff were busy suppressing the truth about New York’s nursing-home deaths in the wake of the March 25 order that forced homes to admit COVID-contagious patients.
"No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19," the order said. " are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission." “Why would you place COVID patients with the most vulnerable people in nursing homes? The worldwide pandemic has threatened many of the businesses you rely on every day, but don’t let it take away your source for local news.
After a report from the state attorney general and a court order, the official count of deaths of nursing home residents nearly doubled from about 8,500 to more than 15,000. When initially reporting the number of nursing home deaths caused by COVID-19, the state had only reported those who died in the facilities themselves, leaving out those who died after being taken to hospitals. A New York attorney general investigation found Cuomo's administration underreported nursing home deaths by more than 50%. It also said 80% of the 310 nursing homes that admitted coronavirus patients already had a confirmed or suspected case among its residents or staff before the directive was issued. And it contends the median number of coronavirus patients sent to nursing homes had been hospitalized for nine days, the same period that the study said it likely takes for the virus to no longer be contagious.
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