SERINO CONDEMNS CONNECTICUT DECISION TO SEND COVID POSITIVE PATIENTS INTO NURSING HOMES; URGES NY GOVERNOR NOT TO FOLLOW

HYDE PARK, NY – With news breaking that the state of Connecticut is sending COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, Senator Sue Serino today is urging Governor Kathy Hochul to commit to rejecting such a plan in New York.

 “With lives on the line, we absolutely cannot repeat past pandemic mistakes,” said Senator Serino. “Sending COVID positive patients into nursing homes in 2020 proved deadly, and to put vulnerable residents in harm’s way again would be grossly irresponsible and dangerous. New York must take a stand today and reject any plan that would send COVID-positive patients into vulnerable nursing homes.”

 New York’s now notorious March 25 order required vulnerable nursing homes to admit thousands of COVID-positive patients at the height of the pandemic in 2020.

 Senator Serino, who is the Ranking Member of the State Senate’s Aging Committee, has been vocally opposed to this practice and has advocated for plans that instead create alternative healthcare settings for individuals who remain COVID positive, but no longer require hospitalization. While Connecticut did create separate ‘recovery centers’ for this purpose during the pandemic, it is being reported that they have not yet reopened those centers before putting this policy in place.

 “As a New York State Senator, I would rarely weigh in on the policies of another state, but this misguided directive hits too close to home,” Senator Serino continued, “With neighboring states often adopting similar policies as one another, it is critically important that Governor Hochul speaks out, gives families of nursing home residents peace of mind, and rejects this dangerous proposal outright.”

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