The city and state are severely lacking in the federal government’s mandate program designed to protect nursing home residents, which leads to disproportionate death from elderly New Yorkers from coronavirus, a new report by City Comptroller, Scott Stringer.
The investigation found that New York City only had one full-time ombudsman for every 8,650 long-term care residents when national guidelines determined one supervisor for every 2,000 people.
There are only six guard dogs assigned to visit 50,000 city dwellers in 244 facilities. In Queens, a single ombudsman assisted by nine volunteers is responsible for overseeing more than 17,000 residents in 84 facilities.
More than 20,000 residents in 80 long-term care facilities in five regions do not have an assigned ombudsman.
The state ranks 40th nationally in full-time ombudsmen per bed in 2018.
Mayor de Blasio donated zero dollars to five years of funds for this program in 2017, and Governor Cuomo contributed only $ 600,000 to the city. The low ball count managed to be $ 7.34 per population bed while the entire nation spent more than double on the program, according to the report.
“This investigation is heartbreaking, especially as New York City continues to fight the global pandemic COVID-19 which has destroyed our parents and grandparents in long-term care facilities,” Stringer said.
“Tragically our failure to support long-term care can be measured in human suffering in the midst of a pandemic. The very high number of COVID-19 deaths among our residents of long-term care facilities should be a wake-up call, “he added.
The Ombudsman identifies harassment and neglect in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities but has been banned along with other visitors from checking on residents during a coronavirus pandemic.
State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) has asked the governor to connect residents with ombudsmen via telephone and email during the crisis.
“Scott Stringer is right on target about the underfunding of the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program,” Gottfried told The Post.
“This program is important for nursing home residents and their families, and is very dependent on volunteers. Our nursing home is chronically understaffed, and the country’s quality enforcement is understaffed, “he said.
Of the nearly 25,000 deaths from the corona virus in the state, 6,208 are residents of nursing homes, about half of those deaths are in New York City facilities.
Stringer recommends increasing city and state funding to at least $ 2.5 million per year to provide full-time ombudsmen to every 2,000 residents of nursing homes.
A spokesman for de Blasio claimed funding for the program was the responsibility of the state.
A representative for Cuomo said visitors were banned from facilities during the pandemic to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“This report’s thesis is completely wrong,” said Cuomo’s spokesman Richard Azzopardi.
He added that the state Department of Health has inspected 1,000 nursing homes since March 1, and last year the Ombudsmen investigated 4,880 complaints.
“We are currently working to rediscover programs to expand the volunteer base and provide increased options for communication between residents and ombudsmen who are less dependent on direct visits,” Azzopardi said.
