[NYP] The Cuomo administration has quietly set up 19 "COVID-only" nursing homes throughout the state to treat patients recovering from the killer bug who are discharged from hospitals.State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker revealed the establishment of the coronavirus-only nursing homes in a 16-page letter sent to the state Legislature Wednesday, which was his response to a series of questions submitted by lawmakers who chair committees overseeing nursing homes.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his health department came under fierce criticism last spring — during the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak — when thousands of recovering coronavirus patients were released from hospitals and sent to nursing homes.
Some nursing home operators claimed a March 25 state Health Department directive pressured them to admit or readmit COVID-19 patients at a time when they were already overwhelmed by the outbreak. At the time, nursing homes were not allowed to test new admissions for COVID-19, had inadequate personal protective equipment and suffered from staffing shortages.
Nursing home operators complained they were told they could not transfer sick COVID-19 patients to the temporary state Javits Center hospital or the United States Navy’s Comfort hospital ship which then-President Trump dispatched to New York harbor to help treat sick patients during the pandemic.