ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul’s new health commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett, showed “complete disregard” towards families of nursing home COVID-19 victim’s families when she said she “won’t unravel” mistakes made under ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo that led to the deaths of over 15,000 elderly New Yorkers, Republican lawmakers charged.
“I came into this year with high hopes that we would hear from a new administration – a new health commissioner – with the desire to right the wrongs of the past. Instead, Dr. Bassett showed a complete disregard for the 15,000-plus New Yorkers when she said, during her recent confirmation hearings, that she will ‘not look back,’ or in her words, ‘unravel’ what happened with the former administration. That is totally unacceptable,” said state Sen. Sue Serino (R-Hyde Park) in Albany Monday.
Bassett recently told state lawmakers that she won’t “unravel what had happened in the nursing homes” or call for an investigation into the pandemic policies under her predecessor, Dr. Howard Zucker – specifically tied to the infamous March 25, 2020 order.
Bassett said she instead wants to “look forward,” but also added she would rather resign instead of implementing a similar policy that would force her to put individuals in harm’s way.
But Serino said the answer isn’t good enough.
“Too many New York families who are impacted by the state’s horrible pandemic policies don’t get the luxury of not looking back,” she said Monday.
Both Serino and Sen. Jim Tedisco (R-Glenville) will introduce a new bill as soon as today that would require the state Department of Health to conduct an investigation into pandemic policies, provide a public report to the legislature and publish a response plan for future outbreaks in nursing homes within a 90-day period.
The legislation would also mandate the DOH launch a new audit of the COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes between March 25, 2020 and May 10, 2020 – the date Cuomo rescinded the order.
The pair also plans to introduce another bill creating an annual “We Care Remembrance Day” on March 25th to commemorate the over 15,000 individuals who died in nursing homes.
Tedisco called Cuomo a “Covid virus purveyor,” claiming his pandemic-era memoir “American Crisis” was a “piece of fiction” riddled with “lies and distortions” about how the state managed the virus.
He said there’s still a lot the public doesn’t “fully know” about why the Cuomo administration issued the March 25th order and withheld the true number of deaths in nursing homes.
“Commissioner Bassett: we’re asking you today to do your due diligence, do the right thing. What is the harm in going back, in finding out what we did right and what we did wrong, but to suggest just going forward?” Tedisco added.
A spokesman said the DOH “does not comment” on proposed legislation but said the department is “committed” to protecting nursing home residents.
The effort “includes supporting the vaccination and booster doses for residents and staff, ensuring facilities adhere to strong infection control measures and issuing guidance on nursing home visitation. These steps are working, as evidenced by the decrease in cases among nursing home residents.”