Gov. Andrew Cuomo claimed that elderly New Yorkers are “safer” in the state’s nursing homes than they would be receiving care in their own homes.
Cuomo, a Democrat, pushed back on Sunday against criticisms that New York nursing homes were unsafe and that his coronavirus policies led to the deaths of thousands of residents. He told Meet the Press that nursing homes in the state actually handled the pandemic much better than others.
“In this state, we’re testing every week, every nursing home employee, right? So, you can argue that they are safer than a senior citizen at home who is receiving care at home. The safest environment, my mother, stay home, don’t see anyone,” he said. “If you are at home, and you have an aide coming in, that aide is not tested. In a nursing home, that staff is tested once a week, and seniors do have to be careful wherever they are.”
Cuomo referenced a report from the New York Times that broke down the percentage of coronavirus deaths that occurred in nursing homes compared to the general public. The report showed New York with 21% of the related deaths happening in nursing homes.
“There’s no doubt in nursing homes all across this nation, that’s where we saw most of the deaths. Not most, but almost 50% of the deaths. Senior citizens in congregate settings. And it’s becoming more and more clear that the infection in the nursing homes came from the staff that got infected and brought it in,” he said.
“But in New York, we’re No. 46 in the nation in terms of percentage of deaths at nursing homes compared to the total percentage. By the New York Times, we’re No. 46. So, it’s been unfortunate. In every state, we have to do more. We have to figure it out, but if they want to point fingers, not at New York. We’re No. 46. You have 45 other states to point fingers at first,” he said.
The data is difficult to compare across states, however. New York has had 6,432 nursing home residents die, which is nearly 12% of the nation’s total of 54,000 who have died. North Dakota, which had the sixth-highest percentage of nursing home deaths compared to the general population at 64%, had just 56 deaths occur in nursing homes.
New York has the second-highest coronavirus death rate in the nation, with 161 deaths per 100,000 residents. North Dakota had 10 deaths per 100,000.
Cuomo has been criticized for a March directive that said nursing homes could not refuse patients from hospitals who had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Cuomo argued that the policy was necessary to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
The governor announced a reversal of that mandate in May after thousands of patients in nursing homes died from the virus. The updated policy said hospitals could only send patients to nursing homes in New York if they tested negative for the virus.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify details about Gov. Cuomo’s directives related to nursing homes.
