New York Nursing Homes Hit Hard by COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has hit New York especially hard – and its elderly residents even harder. And a new discovery announced by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer sheds light on just how badly nursing homes have failed their residents. In New York City alone, not including the rest of New York State, 21,673 people have died from the coronavirus, according to the New York Times. And according to the NYT, 5,637 nursing home residents have contracted the disease, 5,403 of whom have died. Nursing home deaths account for one-fifth of coronavirus deaths in NYC. The report from City Comptroller Stringer states that, on average, there is only one ombudsman for every 8,650 long-term care (nursing home) residents. That number should be one guardian for every 2,000 patients, according to national guidelines. And according to Stringer’s report, there are more than 20,000 patients in 80 long-term care facilities across the city that do not have an assigned ombudsman. This includes all five boroughs: the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island.
Ombudsman Care Not Funded
The job of the ombudsman is to pay regular welfare checks to nursing homes, to check for
neglect or abuse of the residents. But with so few social workers supplied for so many facilities, it is easy to see how neglect or mistreatment can go unnoticed. A federal program exists to protect
nursing home residents, especially during this time of global crisis. Stringer found that Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Cuomo invested very little money into this program. De Blasio didn’t invest a single dollar when prompted in 2017. Cuomo invested $600,000 for the entirety of New York City, which comes out to be about $7 per nursing home resident. The low quality of care and lack of oversight in nursing homes has been a cause for concern for decades. But if your loved one lives in a nursing home and has suffered at the hands of their caretakers, they may be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering.
If you or a loved one has suffered since the onset of the coronavirus because of a lack of care and duty at a nursing home, the lawyers at
Hach & Rose, LLP want to help. We sympathize with the elderly New Yorkers who have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic. The New York
nursing home abuse lawyers at
Hach & Rose, LLP represent nursing home residents and families across the state, so contact our office to schedule your no-obligation consultation today. Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your legal options. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken extra steps to protect the health and safety of our clients and staff. We offer online consultations and are always here to answer your questions and calls. Call us today at
212-779-0057.