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Even as he appears to be positioning himself as the Democrats’ shining hope amid the darkness of Covid-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has a great deal to answer for. His actions over the last several months have contributed to who knows how New Yorkers dying. He decisions centering on nursing homes and Covid-19 demand a full investigation. That became even more clear yesterday with the publication of a Lancet study about the survival rate of elderly Covid-19 patients. Let’s just say the news, while not unexpected, isn’t good.
While the study focused on two hospitals, the results should not only cause one’s blood to run cold but also force NY residents to ask what the hell their governor has done during this crisis. According to the study, most elderly Covid patients who were put on respirators did not survive. The study confirmed “that advanced age is the greatest risk factor for a severe outcome, particularly if accompanied by chronic underlying diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.”
Again, that’s nothing new. We’ve been hearing that from the experts from the beginning.
But it does bring to the forefront Cuomo’s actions regarding these compromised individuals.
A month ago, Cuomo noted that nursing homes were a “feeding frenzy” for Covid-19.
He knew. His own words show he knew the elderly were at a greater risk for infection from Covid-19 than most others. So why did he order nursing homes to accept Covid-19 positive patients? More than that, why did he threaten these same nursing homes with the loss of their licenses if they refused to comply?
It wasn’t until a little more than a week ago, after he came under scrutiny for this policy, that new rules were enacted preventing patients who tested positive for Covid-19 from being discharged to nursing homes. Why? Why did it take so long?
More importantly, would he have continued the policy had the glare of media scrutiny not been shining brightly on him (especially at a time when he seemed poised to start positioning himself as an alternative to Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee)?
Until these new guidelines took effect, nursing homes operated under rules that “prevented New York’s nursing homes from denying admissions solely based on COVID-19 status.” So, in other words, the owners and/or operators of New York’s nursing homes were prevented from protecting their residents from a virus known to have potentially deadly effects on the elderly, the infirm or any combination of the two.
But it gets better. Cuomo’s aides, presumably at his instruction, added a provision to the budget that protects nursing homes from being sued because of Covid-19.
On May 13th, the New York Times reported 5,300 NY nursing home residents had died from Covid-19.
5,300
How many of those deaths were a direct result of forcing nursing homes to accept Covid-positive patients?
It must be something Cuomo and company worried about–not to mention worrying about how the industry might come after him come election time–because they added a provision to the state budget that protects those same nursing homes against Covid-related law suits.
The measure, lobbied for by industry representatives, shielded nursing homes from many lawsuits over their failure to protect residents from death or sickness caused by the coronavirus.
Now, weeks later, more than 5,300 residents of nursing homes in New York are believed to have died from the outbreak, and their relatives are finding that because of the provision, they may not be able to pursue legal action against the homes’ operators over allegations of neglect.”
Talk about rubbing salt in the wounds of grieving families.
First, Cuomo and company basically sign what could be death warrants for many of the residents in these nursing homes by forcing the facilities to accept Covid-positive patients. Then, when their loved ones became ill, because of the state mandated lock-down, they were unable to be with them. If they were lucky, they could talk to their family member via phone. But there was no sitting with them. No holding hands. No sharing memories.
No saying goodbye.
Now they are unable to seek legal redress for what happened. I guaran-damn-tee you that if they can’t sue the nursing homes, they sure as hell can’t sue the state. At least not without jumping through some very expensive hoops most won’t have the money or the desire to deal with. These families are left with questions–and debt–and why? Because Cuomo and company decided it would be a good idea to ignore what the medicals were saying and put active Covid cases in with a compromised population.
And they accuse conservatives of using the crisis to kill the elderly. I think they need to take a closer look at what is going on.
There must be accountability. The Lancet study isn’t alone in its findings that the critically ill, especially the critically ill elderly, who have to be put on respirators face a lower survival rate. According to WaPo:
Early data from Northwell Health, New York state’s largest health system, for example, drew a grim picture of survival chances for patients who were ill enough to need mechanical ventilators. In a paper published April 22, doctors reported that of 1,281 critically ill patients, only 3.3 percent of them had been discharged, while 24.5 percent died. The rest remained hospitalized.”
Cuomo and company have a great deal to answer for.
He needs to face more than scrutiny. He needs to face a full investigation and he needs to be held responsible for the consequences of his actions. At the very least, he needs to be voted out of office. Can you trust a politician willing to put any segment of the population at risk simply because it is expedient to do so? The answer should be a resounding “No!”
Gov. Cuomo, how many deaths are on your head? How many loved ones have been lost because of your ill-conceived plans? You want to lead your state? Then lead by example and show them how a man accepts responsibility.
I won’t hold my breath because I have no doubt you’ll find yet another excuse to offer for your actions. That leaves it up to the good people of New York to make sure you face the consequences of your actions.
November 2022 can’t come soon enough. Until then, we can only home the voters remember your actions and those who supported them when they go to the polls this November. You may wind up very surprised by the results. Let’s hope so. It is time NY, among other states, had a governor concerned for the citizens and not for his own media image or power base.
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Lloyd says: Cuomo is trying to make the most of the power trip provided by this pandemic. Cuomo cares about Cuomo only. He is flexing his political muscle in an effort to become part of the Democratic presidential ticket in November. As an upstate New Yorker, I would not vote for Cuomo for dogcatcher..!!
Amanda Green says: He is like so many mayors and governors right now. I hope the damage they are doing will spur voters to remove them from office. I’m not holding me breath, however.
DAVE says: Just remember that almost 50% of the NATIONAL “deaths” from this fiasco were /are in NY city or state — the carnage in nursing homes is absolutely inexcusable and should be vigorously prosecuted as malicious manslaughter at least … The cabal of Cuomo, DeBlasio (Wilhelm) Schumer, Nadler and associated idiots should not be allowed to skate on this one — class action anyone? THEN turn an eye on Fauci and Co. – their history of medical fakery and fraudulent actions are well documented — read “FEAR OF THE INVISIBLE” for some background into the virology hall of mirrors. Don’t let the criminals walk away this time!!
Amanda Green says: They all believe the media will continue to shield them. What they don’t get is alternative media resources are starting to throw back the curtain. Hopefully, as more people realize what is going on, we will see fewer of these idiots holding onto their offices. It can’t happen too soon.
If you carefully look at all of Cuomo’s actions throughout his reign as governor you see a pattern of trying to focus on politically popular aspects of his policy while hiding the negative impacts. This is the classic narcissistic personality that Andrew exhibits. People like this are the ones that will tell you what you want to hear while doing what you do not want them to do. We all heard his statements about protecting people from Covid19 but only if you were paying attention to secondary sources of information did you see that he was working to the exact opposite end. I heard from a couple of Nursing home administrators of this barbaric policy of forcing Covid19 patients into Nursing homes very early on in the shutdown process. Only after 5000 and more died due to this policy did it actually make the news and this is much to the chagrin of Cuomo himself.
Whether Cuomo specifically ordered this policy or if he had an underling simply do it in order to ease the load on the hospitals so to please the boss (Cuomo) matters little. Either way, there was intentional deception within the governor’s office. This is an impeachable offense.
Will Cuomo be ousted either by election or by some form of trial? No. As long as he wants to be governor he will be. That is the legacy he inherited from his father. Short of his committing a heinous murder personally he will remain in the governor’s mansion in Albany. I will add that the longer he is in office the more likely Upstate will separate from the metro area and form their own state.
Amanda Green says: Totally agree all the way around. The Cuomo name in NY is like the Kennedy name in Mass. And it carries many of the same warts and more.
If justice comes for those families who lost loved ones because of these policies, it won’t be from Cuomo. Someone will become the appointed scapegoat and they will be led to the sacrificial altar. All we can do is keep the spotlight on these abuses and keep tying them back to those responsible, including Cuomo. Hopefully, NY will wake up–but probably not.
GWB says: The study confirmed “that advanced age is the greatest risk factor for a severe outcome, particularly if accompanied by chronic underlying diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.”
I saw someone else making the point that, no, it’s not age that’s the main problem, but those other medical issues that naturally accumulate as you age.
That’s also why it’s hitting nursing homes so hard – they’re full of people with those medical issues, not just full of old people. I’m going to guess that “retirement communities” in FL were not hit anywhere near as hard as nursing homes in FL (which weren’t hit nearly as hard as nursing homes in NY).
most elderly Covid patients who were put on respirators did not survive
I think vast numbers of non-elderly patients who were put on respirators didn’t survive, either. Doctors have said that putting someone on the respirator is basically putting them on death watch.
New York’s nursing homes were prevented from protecting their residents from a virus known to have potentially deadly effects on the elderly
Something I haven’t seen anyone explore, though, is what role the homes played in the deaths. While not wanting to take any pressure off Cuomo, what basic infectious disease protocols did the nursing homes enact, or not enact, the moment it became obvious their charges were particularly vulnerable? Did they isolate individuals? Or did they simply isolate the whole home, giving free reign to any virus that breached the perimeter? Were they practicing good hygiene practices concerning infection? I don’t think they were prevented from doing any of those things.
added a provision to the budget that protects nursing homes from being sued because of Covid-19
Why does that make me think some big nursing homes were in on it? Doesn’t that just scream Big Nursing Home to you? Were they getting extra money from the state for taking these patients? Did they terribly mind Cuomo’s direction?
lobbied for by industry representatives
Oh, hey! Lookie there! Maybe I was right!
You might want to connect this bit with my musings, more so than with Cuomo’s directive.
GWB says: BTW, Amanda, a semi-defense of Cuomo’s directive:
Nursing homes are already the choice for hospice care for terminally ill patients in many places. If they don’t require hospital functions and machines to prolong their life, or those will no longer do any good, the hospital sends them off to what we would call a nursing home. It frees up beds for other patients and reduces costs for the insurer. It’s a common practice.
All Cuomo did was tell the nursing homes they couldn’t reject one of these patients solely for Winnie The Flu. I’m betting some found other excuses to reject WTF patients. But many probably could not.
So, let’s not stop with Cuomo’s directive, but look at the whole incestuous gaggle of state, hospitals, nursing homes, etc., and all the money that flows among them.
Amanda Green says: The problem with this line, GWB, is those requiring hospice care aren’t usually contagious and certainly not with something that impacts those living in nursing homes as badly as Covid does. Remember, this is when Cuomo was demanding the hospital ship and other resources to “protect the public”. No, whether he made this decision on his own or he simply accepted the recommendation, it flies in the face of what he is supposed to do–which is protect those living in his state.
Scott says: “Doctors have said that putting someone on the respirator is basically putting them on death watch.”
At least some of that was due to this virus attacking the body differently that some other similar diseases. Conventional wisdom says that if a patients oxygen saturation is dropping, you increase the pressures on the ventilator to compensate. Because the bat soup flu attacks cells in the lung directly, and does physical damage to them, those higher ventilator pressures exacerbate that damage, causing the cells to burst, accelerating the drop in oxygen saturation, and thus eventually death. it took a while for the medical community to recognize this, and seemingly even longer for the hospitals on the East Coast to recognize and adapt to this reality.
This problem, in addition to the co-morbidities that you mention is why the death rate was so high among those put on ventilators.
GWB says: Thanks for the reminder why it was so much worse with WTF than other things that might require you being put on a ventilator.
I do seem to recall someone saying that even with other diseases the ventilator* was a last ditch option for pneumonia-like problems. But, obviously, I could be misremembering.
(* I think I misused “respirator” all throughout my comments above, too.)
Scott says: You’re not wrong GWB, being put on a ventilator is never a good sign. but when oxygen saturation drops due to low tidal volume, or other issues, such as fluid in the lungs from a “normal”pneumonia,higher pressures on the vent can be effective at fixing the problem (pushing the fluid out of the lungs, and into the circulatory system). When there’s direct damage to lung tissue like this virus causes, doctors need to shift gear quickly, and be willing to accept oxygen levels much lower than usual, in order to minimize vent pressures, and further damage to lung tissue. When they fail to do so, mortality rates will rise.
[…] Hell: Mike Torres, Phony War Veteran, also, Navy Declares 100 Meter Standoff Victory Girls: Governor Cuomo Must Answer For Nursing Home Deaths Volokh Conspiracy: Trump’s Threat To Withhold Federal Funds From States Expanding […]
MortMain says: In olden days, we quarantined households, not whole communities.
GWB says: Not entirely true. Back when, if a disease was thought contagious enough, entire villages would be quarantined if a single person demonstrated symptoms. Sometimes, cordoned off and burned – with everyone inside, healthy and sick alike.
However, that was in a “less enlightened” age, and we claim that we do these things by SCIENCE! now, where epidemiology should make that less of a need. Evidently SCIENCE! isn’t all it claims, and a little humility might be in order.
cthulhu says: One count of attempted murder for everyone that caught it from a tested positive placed into a nursing home.
He’s lucky I can’t be on the jury. Cuomo deserves the chair as one of the most prolific mass-murderers in US history.
Sidewalkchalk says: It has been going on for years. From the fracking ban through the NYSAFE act and guns, to bogus battery plants in Buffalo, plastic bags and choking off natural gas supplies to the NYC metropolitan area and Covid19-flu, Andrew knows all. But it’s still the Tappan Zee Bridge despite what it says on Andrew’s signs.
Sabre22 says: He is a mass murderer and needs to be prosecuted as does any other state official that did the same thing anywhere in the country
Detroit Pete says: May he drop dead and go straight to he**
GWB says: OK, so more on the hospitals’ and nursing homes’ part in this.
I’m seeing a couple of tidbits that keep popping up:
1) The hospitals sent them to the nursing homes to free up beds.
2) The nursing homes don’t have the ability to quarantine people.
1) So, the big question I have on the first one is, “Were they sending contagious patients out the door? Without particular instructions?” Do they do this all the time?!? I know this was to free up beds, but it sounds like they were cutting corners because they were in a panic. And did the nursing homes really object?
On the second one, I just have to ask, “WTF?!?” Don’t they have immuno-compromised patients*? What if one of them gets the flu? You’re telling me that all I have to do to kill off a LOT of old people is to walk in the place and sneeze? Aren’t they medical facilities? Don’t they have medical protocols? One of those is surely “What to do if a patient comes down with an infectious disease.” I certainly hope the answer is not “Throw them over the fence to the hospital.”
(* Arguably aren’t ALL their patients immuno-compromised to some degree?)
Now, Cuomo’s people should have known these limitations/bad ideas existed. They should have dealt with them. They certainly should not have sent infected patients to those homes without providing some sort of quarantine capability. Especially given how infectious we thought this thing was back then.
And, one note that makes the slam on Cuomo worse is that he’s not pushing back on the two bits above. He’s not throwing the stink back on the homes, nor on the hospitals. So, yeah, he (at least his people) knew.
Nina says: Just read that an entire hospital built in Brooklyn at end of March/early April was closed the other day and NEVER SAW A PATIENT!
So the question must be asked…why were virus patients sent to nursing homes when USS Comfort, Javits, and this hospital in Brooklyn were completely available.
[…] repeatedly ever since last year, when New York kept posting astronomically high numbers of deaths, especially among the elderly. And the governor had signed an order to send back COVID-infected patients back to their nursing […]
[…] ever since last year, when New York kept posting astronomically high numbers of deaths, especially among the elderly. And the governor had signed an order to send back COVID-infected patients back to their nursing […]
[…] This cannot be stated enough. Andrew Cuomo, as governor of the state of New York, had a policy requiring nursing homes to take in COVID positive patients. […]
[…] was devastating to seniors. Not only did it end up being fatal in New York state thanks to then-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s insane plan to put COVID-positive seniors BACK IN their nursing homes, but the effect of isolation was just as […]
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