With COVID-19 cases on the rise, a lawmaker from the Hudson Valley is urging New York state to develop a plan to more effectively protect residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Republican state Senator Sue Serino is reiterating her call for the state to take steps to create step-down facilities to help keep COVID-19 out of nursing homes; prioritize them when it comes to deploying rapid tests; and ensure they have the PPE, staff and resources they need to keep residents safe. Earlier this week, the governor and health commissioner announced a winter plan to help manage and mitigate the spread of COVID, a plan that Serino says is without contingencies for nursing homes and the like. She does not want to see nursing home residents who were treated for COVID-19 at hospitals directly readmitted to the facilities, as they were in March.