Whitmer refuses to release complete nursing home data and details behind the failed policies. Michiganders are demanding answers and transparency, now.
March 12, 2021
Gov. Whitmer Stands Behind Failed Nursing Homes Policy
On the one-year anniversary of the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Michigan and after at least 5,500 deaths associated with nursing homes, Governor Gretchen Whitmer told WDIV Local 4 that she stands by her COVID nursing home policy.
WDIV: “Initially, patients who tested positive for COVID were placed in the same facility with patients who did not have COVID.”
“There is growing scrutiny over the policy with the prospect of lawsuits and other legal action. Whitmer said she remains proud of her team’s overall response to the coronavirus.”
WDIV also reports that they requested and were denied the number of seniors that died from COVID-19 who were sent from nursing homes to hospitals because the state does not keep that data.
WDIV: “When Cuomo came under fire for allegedly underreporting the number of seniors sent from nursing homes who died in hospitals, Local 4 filed a freedom of information request to look into Michigan’s numbers. There aren’t any.”
Whitmer’s handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes and her refusal to share the data is leading to her being called “The Andrew Cuomo of the Midwest” in a new report from National Review.
National Review: “Whitmer refused to back down for months from her initial executive order instructing nursing homes and other similar facilities to take on hospital patients with COVID-19. The governor was warned early on by the head of the state’s elder-care association not to do this, but she did so anyway. And she continued the misguided policy, despite several bipartisan attempts from the Michigan legislature to alter the mandate.”
Gov. Whitmer used taxpayer money to buy the former state health director’s silence for $155,600. The person in charge of nursing home policy, data & shutdowns was paid to not discuss any matters pertaining to his employment. Whitmer refuses to release complete nursing home data and details behind the failed policies. Michiganders are demanding answers and transparency, now. – Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action