During this coronavirus pandemic, scores of the dead are coming from nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.
While it is understandable that the elderly by nature had pre-existing conditions, there have been longstanding issues regarding notification of family, personal protective equipment (PPE) for workers and communication with government.
Thus KCP put the following question to incumbent Assemblymember Walter Mosley (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights) and his opponent Phara Souffrant Forrest in the upcoming June 23 Democratic primary..
Given that the NY State Department of Health is the regulatory government body overseeing all nursing homes, what kind of legislation and/or measures concerning nursing homes would you advocate for as a state assembly or senate member?
Walter Mosley: “I’m greatly concerned by the number of deaths we’ve seen in our nursing homes and the lack of preparedness that we’ve seen. We need to make sure that residents there are taken care of and that staff are protected. That starts with better reporting on nursing home conditions from the Department of Health and with greater enforcement of regulations on nursing home owners. When we’ve returned to normalcy there will be many changes to our lives, and protecting our seniors and nursing home residents must be a priority.”
Phara Souffrant Forrest: “Deaths in our state’s nursing homes and rehabilitation centers are inexcusable and as a nurse, I know that our nursing homes need funding and more staff. To deal with this crisis in the short-term, New York needs safe staffing standards, the appropriate amount of PPE to keep everyone safe, and onsite COVID-19 testing for all nursing homes as soon as possible. In the long term, our state must pass the New York Health Act to ensure that long-term care is well funded and available for all.”
