New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is not the only governor with a nursing home problem. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proven to be just as eager to enact policies that put seniors at risk of contracting the coronavirus. Way back when Michigan reported its first COVID cases, the Health Care Association of Michigan made a reasonable suggestion for the governor. They asked her to move infected nursing home residents to vacant facilities, which could be used as quarantine centers. But Whitmer insisted that the best approach would be to keep COVID patients in "isolated" areas still inside the nursing homes.
Nursing home deaths climbed. A total of 38,000 residents were living in nursing homes, with 1,947 deaths reported. Put in a more startling perspective, about 33 percent of the state's COVID-related deaths have been nursing home residents or employees. Sen. Peter Lucid (R-Shelby Township) had seen enough and introduced a measure, Senate Bill 956, to finally move COVID patients to separate facilities. Whitmer vetoed it on Friday.
In a letter defending her veto, Gov. Whitmer said that the bill was based on "the false premise that isolation units created within existing facilities are somehow insufficient to protect seniors."
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04.24.2024