The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic is weighing a subpoena of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo if he snubs their final request for records about his decision to place COVID-infected patients in nursing homes and long-term care facilities at the onset of the outbreak.
Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) threatened in a Tuesday letter to “evaluate” compulsory measures if Cuomo failed to produce documents about his administration’s COVID policies by Oct. 17, according to a copy of the missive exclusively obtained by The Post.
“To date, we have not received a single document from you. The Select Subcommittee is comprised of physicians from both sides of the aisle and members who take our responsibilities seriously,” Wenstrup wrote to the former governor.
“Contrary to your and your spokesman’s unfortunate statements, this investigation is the result of your clearly medically misguided decision to expose New York’s most vulnerable to COVID-19 by issuing the ‘must admit’ orders, which had predic[t]able but deadly consequences for 15,000 nursing home residents,” he added.
“Any attempt to cover up the truth and conceal culpability is not acceptable to the American people. The Select Subcommittee is committed to a transparent investigation and expects you to be forthcoming during this process.”
A spokesman for the former governor told The Post in a statement that the letter was “a farce.”
“This letter is a farce — the data they seek — which has already been reviewed twice by the DOJ, as well as the State Assembly and the AG, all of which found no there, there — is with the state,” Rich Azzopardi said.
“Once again, it’s unfortunate that some DC politicians are seeking to transparently weaponize people’s pain to advance a political agenda.” --->READ MORE HERE
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| Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes |
Staff burnout, turnover and recruitment challenges during the coronavirus pandemic contributed to severe shortages for nurses and other jobs at most medical facilities run by the Veterans Health Administration, according to a review by the inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Findings for VHA facilities surveyed showed problems resulting from the pandemic exacerbated existing personnel shortfalls for clinical and nonclinical positions.
“A limited labor pool, noncompetitive pay, COVID-19 requirements and a challenging hiring process were the most commonly reported factors that contributed to personnel shortages,” according to the report, which was published in September.
Clinical shortage areas spanned practical nursing, psychology/psychiatry, medical technology and primary care.
The report stated the need for inpatient hospitalizations grew during the pandemic, while elective and outpatient care decreased as consumers avoided public contact.
The VHA responded to changes in workloads at hospitals by “training outpatient doctors and elective procedure nurses in competencies necessary to deliver care in inpatient settings,” the report said.
The VHA also increased telehealth care to limit in-person interactions and mitigate the spread of the virus, according to the report.
Shortages in nonclinical areas were most severe for custodial work, medical support, police, engineering and food service. The need for custodial workers topped the list. Nearly 70% of facilities reported a severe occupational shortage of custodial workers in fiscal 2022, up from 42% in fiscal 2021 and 47% in fiscal 2020. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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