Yesterday, Assemblyman Kevin Byrne (R, C, Ref-Mahopac) solicited aid from President Trump requesting he take action to help obtain the long sought after data on COVID-19 deaths from nursing homes. Members of the Legislature have repeatedly asked the state Department of Health (NYS DOH) for a complete record of COVID-19 deaths, including those who contracted the virus while in a nursing home but died elsewhere.
On September 24, Byrne and members of the Legislature wrote to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) requesting the agency update its rules to require retrospective reporting from nursing homes to ensure the data legislators and advocates have been seeking for months is made public. The CDC director replied by restating the agency’s existing rules and did not directly respond to the request to change them in order to make the information available.
In a letter to the President, signed by at least 25 members of the Assembly, Byrne called the CDC’s response “unsatisfactory” and requested aid from the President as part of “a last ditch effort… to obtain the long sought after COVID-19 data New York families and good-government groups have been seeking for months.”
“We’ve held numerous bipartisan hearings and forums on this issue and have made repeated requests for more information from the NYS DOH. Some good government groups have even resorted to litigation to try to obtain this data, to no avail as of yet. These families deserve real answers. Many remain concerned that a mandate from the NYS DOH on March 25, that prohibited nursing homes from denying COVID-19 patients and prohibited them from requiring a test, created a deadly environment that further spread this wicked virus to our most vulnerable,” said Byrne. “It is our hope the White House will consider assisting us in obtaining this critical information. As policy makers, we must have the real numbers so we can learn from this pandemic and support better policies moving forward. Family members who lost loved ones have had their pleas for this information ignored for far too long. Earlier this year, I led a group of legislators in writing to the CDC requesting it updates its rules to ensure retrospective reporting so we know the full count of how many patients died from contracting COVID-19 in elder care facilities. The cookie-cutter response we got back was simply unacceptable. It’s time the President got involved to ensure this information is made available.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the entire New York Congressional Delegation were copied on the letter to President Trump.
The letter closed with a final plea, stating, “Mr. President, you have come to our state’s aid in the past. We ask you do so again with your administration’s support, ensuring this important information is made publicly available.”
Text of letter to President Trump below:
Dear President Trump:
We write to you as a last-ditch effort for assistance to obtain the long sought after COVID-19 data New York families and good government groups have been seeking for months.
As you are well aware, your home state of New York has been deeply hurt by the novel coronavirus. New Yorkers appreciate the swift response your administration provided to us in our time of greatest need this past spring: the USNS Comfort, the Army Corps of Engineers, millions of units of PPE, thousands of ventilators, and more. Still, despite your administration’s best efforts, our state still suffered immensely, especially in our nursing homes. Members of the New York State Legislature have repeatedly asked the State Department of Health (NYS DOH) for a complete and accurate accounting of all COVID-19 deaths, including those who contracted the virus in a nursing home but died elsewhere. To date, I am sad to report our requests have been completely ignored.
Good government groups, as well as families who lost loved ones from COVID-19 in nursing homes, have requested this information exercising the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). The response from the NYS DOH has been to delay, delay, and delay. Members of the New York State Legislature have already held multiple forums and hearings on this matter (1,2,3). Months have passed and cases are rising again, yet we have not been given the opportunity to review this information to better prepare for what lies ahead. Some groups have even resorted to litigation to try to obtain the information, but as of yet, to no avail (4).
Earlier this fall, I led a group of state legislators in writing to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), requesting they update their reporting rules to require nursing homes to employ retrospective reporting of resident deaths. New York counts its COVID-19 deaths unlike any other state. Many are concerned that a mandate from the NYS DOH on March 25th, which prohibited nursing homes from denying COVID-19 patients and prohibited them from requiring a test, created a deadly environment that further spread this wicked virus to our most vulnerable. To know for sure, and to better prepare for the future, we need to know what the real numbers are.
The response we received back from the CDC was unsatisfactory. It merely echoed the existing rules which were already outlined in the letter we sent. It did not answer our request to update the CDC rules with a mandate requiring retrospective reporting.
For your convenience, enclosed are copies of our correspondence with the CDC.
It is our hope that through your office, you can help us obtain this information. As policy makers, we must have the real numbers so we can support better policies moving forward. Family members who lost loved ones have had their pleas for this information ignored.
Mr. President, you have come to our state’s aid in the past. We ask you do so again with your administration’s support and ensure this important information is made publicly available.
Thank you for your detailed attention to this pressing matter.
Respectfully,
Kevin M. Byrne
NY’s 94th Assembly District
Will Barclay
NYS Assembly Minority Leader
Jacob Ashby
NY’s 107th Assembly District
Keith P. Brown
NY’s 12th Assembly District
Karl Brabenec
NY’s 98th Assembly District
Marjorie L. Byrnes
NY’s 133rd Assembly District
Clifford W. Crouch
NY’s 122nd Assembly District
Michael J. Fitzpatrick
NY’s 8th Assembly District
Stephen M. Hawley
NY’s 139th Assembly District
John Mikulin
NY’s 17th Assembly District
Michael A. Montesano
NY’s 15th Assembly District
Philip A. Palmesano
NY’s 132nd Assembly District
Joseph P. DeStefano
NY’s 3rd Assembly District
Joseph M. Giglio
NY’s 148th Assembly District
Brian D. Manktelow
NY’s 130th Assembly District
Brian D. Miller
NY’s 101st Assembly District
Michael J. Norris
NY’s 144th Assembly District
Michael W. Reilly, Jr.
NY’s 62nd Assembly District
John J. Salka
NY’s 121st Assembly District
Douglas M. Smith
NY’s 5th Assembly District
Daniel G. Stec
NY’s 114th Assembly District
Mark C. Walczyk
NY’s 116th Assembly District
Colin J. Schmitt
NY’s 99th Assembly District
Robert J. Smullen
NY’s 118th Assembly District
Christopher Tague
NY’s 102nd Assembly District
Mary Beth Walsh
NY’s 112th Assembly District
Enclosure: Sept 24th correspondence to CDC Oct 28th correspondence from CDC
Sources
1.)Assembly and Senate GOP. (2020, August 17). Republican Senate and Assembly Roundtable of COVID-19 & Nursing Homes, Assisted Living and Long-Term Facilities. https://www.facebook.com/nysenaterepubs/videos- /615223712716579
2.) 8-3-20 Joint Virtual Public Hearing on Residential Health Care Facilities and COVID-19- New York City, Long Island and Westchester- Part. (2020, August 3). https://nystateassembly.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.- php?view_id=8&clip_id=5632
3.) 8-10-20 Part 1 Joint Virtual Public Hearing on Residential Health Care Facilities and COVID-19 – Upstate New York (2020, August 10). https://nystateassembly.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=8&clip_- id=5638
4.) Gilligan, C. (2020, September 18). Empire Center Sues Cuomo Administration for Withholding Nursing Home COVID Data. Empire Center for Public Policy. https://www.empirecenter.org/publications/empire-center-sues- cuomo-administration/
ALBANY OFFICE: R
Cc:
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi Members of New York’s Congressional Delegation