No New York nursing home has lost its licenses yet, despite widespread COVID-19 deaths on the premises, aides to Governor Andrew Cuomo said recently – complaining that state laws are too lenient and their hands are tied.
Members of Cuomo’s team made comments during the now infamous meeting last week with Democratic lawmakers, in which aide Melissa DeRosa admitted that state officials hid blunt data that show the extent of the number of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes.
“I think that many of these retirement homes, frankly, in retrospect, even before COVID have been getting away with it for many years,” said DeRosa during the virtual closed-door meeting, whose audio was analyzed by The Post.
DeRosa was responding to an appeal by state deputy Ron Kim (D-Queens) – whose uncle allegedly died of coronavirus in a nursing home – to hold “bad actors” to account and bring “retroactive justice” against facilities that mixed COVID-positive Residents with other people, allowing the virus to spread.
“I think if there is any evidence that someone was intentional or negligent in a way that goes beyond the normal course that costs people’s lives, I think we all share the same goal, which is to hold them accountable,” said DeRosa.
Pressed by state senator James Skoufis (D-Orange) about what steps the state actually took to hold houses that are not ready to be destroyed accountable, Beth Garvey, Cuomo’s adviser, admitted that there was not much to report.
“It didn’t happen,” said Garvey, questioning whether the state revoked asylum licenses, as Cuomo threatened for serious violations.
“We have a significant legal process, obviously, for those operators that we have to go through and hearings. So, they are still in progress. “
“We don’t have any nominated receivers right now, you know,” continued Garvey, questioned if any installations were filed for bankruptcy.
The facilities were also not particularly affected in the pocket.
Between the start of the pandemic and February 4, the state Department of Health conducted 2,284 asylum infection control inspections.
But the audits resulted in only 170 violations, which Skoufis said “seems low, given the type of knowledge we are all operating with”.
These 170 violations resulted, however, in just $ 1.3 million in fines, with state fines limited to $ 10,000 each.
“Ten thousand dollars is really the most we can assess for a violation, even an intentional violation of a public health law,” said Garvey.
Skoufis noted, however, that $ 1.3 million in 170 violations averages about $ 7,650 per infraction, a sum he said “amounts to a slap on the hand”.
DeRosa admitted the need to step up enforcement, but questioned the extent to which this was possible under existing state legislation.
“I think this is something that we should review, I think that we should increase the penalties,” she said. “I am not suggesting that we should not have due process. But if there is a way to change the law to streamline some of that, we must do it. “
Richard Mollot, head of the Long Term Care Community Coalition nursing home residents’ advocacy group, said Cuomo’s advisers correctly identified a problem with the status quo – but that they do not need to bring the problem to lawmakers.
“The governor and the Department of Health do not have to wait for the legislature,” said Mollot.
“They can provide immediate relief to residents and families, improving the application of minimum standards, issuing guidelines to allow each resident to designate a visitor and opening communications with residents’ advocates.”
James Clyne, executive director of the advocacy group Leading Age NY, said, however, that more regulation was not the answer.
“Apart from nuclear power plants, there is no one more regulated than nursing homes,” said Clyne. “More penalties is not the solution. The solution is to work with nursing homes to provide us with the tools we need. “
Cuomo’s spokesman Rich Azzopardi replied on Sunday: “Lawmakers seemed to agree with us that the fines were very low and further action is needed to further protect patients in these facilities and there was a commitment to discuss these vital changes.”