COVID Nursing Home Report is Alarming: NYers Deserve Truth

“All New Yorkers, and especially those who suffered the tragic loss of a loved one to COVID, deserve and are entitled to the truth,” said Senator Dan Stec.

“Early on we were promised by the governor that data would drive decisions, with him saying he would share all of the numbers.  Today’s attorney general report suggests that the State Department of Health has instead obscured by as much as 50 percent the number of nursing home-related deaths.  The governor hasn’t kept his promise.

“For months, my colleagues and many others including media outlets have been trying to get accurate figures from this administration.  For months, they have offered us nothing but excuses.  Instead, the task fell to the state attorney general, who has spent a lot time and energy investigating.  What we are learning is alarming to say the least, a case of either gross incompetence or an apparent cover-up by Cuomo and his administration.

“Anyone who has spent time in a nursing home knows the tremendous challenge that goes on there every day.  I have nothing but respect and appreciation for the men and women who work in our nursing homes and try mightily to offer the compassionate and attentive care we all hope for our elderly family members and friends.  Not for a minute can we blame them.  Understanding what happened by knowing the complete truth is the only way we can make things better in the future.  The sooner we get there the better.”