ALBANY, NY (AP) – New York may have counted fewer COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents in thousands, the state attorney general accused in a report on Thursday that dealt a blow to the often repeated allegations of the Governor Andrew Cuomo that his state is doing better than others in protecting its most vulnerable.
The 76-page report found a lower score of more than 50%, supporting the findings of an Associated Press investigation last year, it focused on the fact that New York is one of the only states in the country that counts residents who died in nursing homes and not those who later died in hospitals.
Such an under count would mean that the state’s current official count of 8,711 deaths in nursing homes due to the virus is actually more than 13,000, propelling New York from sixth to the highest in the country.
“While we cannot bring back the individuals we lost in this crisis, this report seeks to provide the transparency that the public deserves,” said Attorney General Letitia James in a statement.
A report by a fellow Democratic official weakened Cuomo’s frequent argument that criticism of the virus’s handling in asylums was part of a political “blame game” and was revenge for thousands of families who believed their loved ones were being omitted. counting to promote the governor’s image as a pandemic hero.
“It is important to me that my mother was told,” said Vivian Zayas, whose 78-year-old mother died in April after contracting COVID-19 at a nursing home in West Islip, New York. “Families like mine knew that these numbers were not correct.”
Cuomo’s office and the state health department did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
James has been examining discrepancies between the number of deaths reported by the state Department of Health and the number of deaths reported by the homes themselves for months.
His investigators analyzed a sample of 62 of the state’s nearly 600 nursing homes. They reported 1,914 deaths of COVID-19 residents, while the state Department of Health recorded only 1,229 deaths in these same facilities. An unidentified facility, for example, had an official death toll of 11, but the attorney general’s investigation found that 40 had died.
The AP analysis in August concluded that the state could be underestimating deaths by up to 65%, based on discrepancies between its totals and the numbers reported to federal regulators. This analysis was, like James’ report, based on just one piece of data, rather than a comprehensive view.
To date, despite requests from the AP’s public records and repeated calls from state and federal lawmakers, the New York Department of Health has yet to disclose the total number of nursing home residents who died in hospitals and also on the home of the nursing home. Health commissioner Howard Zucker has said several times that the state is working with this data.
State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, a Democrat who criticized the Cuomo government for its incomplete death count, said he was “unfortunately not surprised” by the report.
“Families who have lost loved ones deserve honest answers,” said Rivera. “For their sake, I hope this report will help us to uncover the truth and implement policies to prevent such tragedies in the future.”
Cuomo, who last fall released a book praising his leadership in treating the virus, is not afraid to use the lower death count in New York’s nursing homes to argue that his state is doing better than others in treating people in such facilities.
“There is also no doubt that we are in this hyper-political environment, so everyone wants to point the finger,” Cuomo told CBS “This Morning” in October. “In New York, in fact, we’re number 46 out of 50 in terms of the percentage of deaths in nursing homes – 46 out of 50. So, yes, people died in nursing homes. … but 46 out of 50 is not a predominantly New York problem. “
The attorney general’s report also pointed to the political controversy on March 25 in New York, which sought to create more space in hospitals by releasing patients with recovering COVID-19 to nursing homes, which critics say was a determining factor in the cause. outbreaks in nursing homes.
James’ report said these admissions “may have contributed to the increased risk of infection for nursing home residents and subsequent fatalities”, noting that at least 4,000 nursing home residents with COVID-19 died after this guidance. But James’ report said the issue would require further study to conclusively prove such a link.
The New York health department released a highly criticized report last summer, saying that the March 25 policy, which was reversed in May, “was not a significant factor” in the deaths.
James’s review also found that the lack of infection controls in nursing homes increases the risk of harm to residents, that homes with lower federal staff scores had higher mortality rates and that a broad measure that Cuomo signed in April protecting nursing homes and other services Health care providers in court cases may have really encouraged homes to avoid hiring and training.
“As the pandemic and our investigations continue,” she wrote, “it is imperative that we understand why nursing home residents in New York have suffered unnecessarily at such an alarming rate.”