In Advance of 4th Anniversary of March 25th Pandemic Executive Order, Tedisco Calls for Justice for Nursing Home Victims

Where’s Governor Kathy Hochul’s long-promised and way-overdue post pandemic “independent” policy review and when will the public see it? 

That’s the question Senator Jim Tedisco (R,C-Ballston Lake) today is again asking as the fourth anniversary nears of the notorious March 25th Executive Order by former Governor Andrew Cuomo and his Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker mandating the placement of COVID-positive patients into state-regulated nursing homes causing the virus to spread like wildfire.  Many believe this executive order led to the deaths of over 15,000 of our most vulnerable citizens.

Senator Tedisco is calling on Governor Hochul to immediately and publicly release a full and unredacted report of a now four-month overdue $4.3 million “independent” review of COVID-19 pandemic policy in New York, including if the Cuomo Administration bears responsibility for the deaths and subsequent cover-up of over 15,000 people in state-regulated nursing homes.

On May 24, 2022, Governor Hochul announced she had ordered “a wide-ranging and independent review of the state’s policies during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.”  Hochul said:

“History deserves to have a true record of what happened here, and I want an outside look at it…I have to be able to leave future governors what was learned, not just in the health care space and the response dealing with nursing homes, but also decisions that affected our economy, decisions that affected families.”

On November 2, 2022, it was revealed that the Hochul Administration hired an outside firm, the Olson Group, Ltd, for a $4.3 million contract to perform a year-long study with the review to begin that month.  It’s now March 2024, one week before the 4th anniversary of Cuomo’s pandemic executive order and this report remains elusive.

“This Governor’s so-called ‘independent report’ on the pandemic response and nursing home deaths was due over four months ago but we’ve had total radio silence from the Hochul Administration on its status. Where is this report and why hasn’t it been released?” said Senator Jim Tedisco.

“It’s been four years since Cuomo and Zucker’s infamous executive order mandating the placement of COVID-positive patients into nursing homes that may have resulted in the deaths of 15,000 New Yorkers. Governor Hochul and her one-time partner, Governor Cuomo, may wish to forget this terrible tragedy ever happened, but the families who were impacted will not let this go quietly into the night until we have justice and nor will I. We need a full understanding of what happened and what can be done to prevent this from reoccurring when a future pandemic strikes,” said Senator Tedisco.

“We remember that every life lost during the pandemic was more than just a statistic, these individuals were someone’s spouse, parent, grandparent and sibling and they deserve to know what happened. We also urgently need this information expeditiously to ensure New York State is better prepared for a future health crisis that could be around any corner. Pandemics don’t abide by political timetables,” said Senator Tedisco.

Senator Tedisco has been an outspoken critic of the previous administration’s March 25, 2020 executive order mandating the placement of Covid-positive patients in nursing homes. Tedisco joined the Empire Center in successfully suing the Cuomo Administration to get the real number of nursing home deaths publicly released. 

Tedisco is the sponsor of bi-partisan legislation for an independent investigation with subpoena power into the nursing home deaths (S.2419) that has the support of families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in what’s become one of the worst disasters in New York State history in terms of loss of life.

“Governor Hochul: have this pandemic report released before next week’s fourth anniversary of that deadly executive order and provide real answers to the families. They are suffering in the dark. Shed some light onto what caused this disaster,” said Senator Tedisco.