Reports say COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes account for 42 percent of deaths nationwide, yet Michigan still hasn’t created a thorough plan to protect the most vulnerable.
May 28, 2020
Michigan Lawmakers Demand Changes to Whitmer Nursing Home Policy as Health Director Still Doesn’t Provide Complete Data
Today, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director once again said the state’s nursing home data is incomplete. Two weeks ago Director Gordon told the Senate Oversight Committee committee the data the state had on nursing homes was inaccurate and the deaths were undercounted. In another hearing today, Gordon gave the committee two separate numbers and data sets for nursing home deaths in the state saying there is still not complete data.
WDIV reports that the mother of Rep. Leslie Love, a Democrat State Representative, has now tested positive for the coronavirus. Rep. Love has been critical of Whitmer’s nursing home policy for weeks. Rep. Love said Gov. Whitmer’s controversial nursing home policy which puts infected patients in the same facilities as negative patients is the “most idiotic thing we could come up with.”
Watch the news report here:
According to an analysis from the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, 42 percent of COVID-19 deaths nationwide are associated with nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
The Whitmer administration continues to fail to release accurate nursing home data and deaths. Reports say COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes account for 42 percent of deaths nationwide, yet Michigan still hasn’t created a thorough plan to protect the most vulnerable. Gov. Whitmer likes to say she is using “facts,” “science,” and “data” to make decisions. How can Michiganders take that statement seriously if the state still doesn’t have data or a plan to keep safe the most vulnerable population to COVID-19. – Tori Sachs, executive director of Michigan Rising Action.