1 September 2020: Cuomo Administration Accused of Stonewalling True Count of Nursing Home Deaths

Cuomo admin accused of stonewalling over COVID-19 nursing home death tally

This report covers the Empire Center for Public Policy's effort to obtain data from the Cuomo administration that quantifies the full death tally of nursing home residents from the coronavirus. The government watchdog group reveals the state is sitting on far more data related to COVID-19 nursing-home related infections and deaths and rejects its claims that it cannot make the records available until November 5, 2020, two days after upcoming statewide elections:

“The state Health Department is offering a new explanation for why it won’t provide the full death toll of coronavirus in nursing homes: it can’t find the records," said Bill Hammond, a health analyst for the Empire Center who submitted the legal request for the data in early August.

In a response letter sent to Hammond on Monday, the department said it could not yet fulfill the request “because a diligent search for relevant documents is still being conducted."

“We estimate that this Office will complete its process by November 5, 2020. The Department will notify you in writing when/if the responsive materials are available for release or if the time needed to complete your request extends beyond the above date," said the department’s record access officer, Rosemary Hewig.

The independent, nonpartisan, and non-profit organization indicates the state's Health Department's claim is disingenuous and describes how out-of-the-ordinary it is:

The delayed compliance in releasing information in response to legal requests has been a common practice of government agencies, with officials often saying they are still conducting a “diligent search" for records.

“In this case, however, a search of any kind should not be necessary," Hammond said in a blog post.

He said the department’s Health Emergency Response Data System (or HERDS) has required nursing homes to file daily reports throughout the pandemic — including counts of all residents who die from coronavirus, both within the facilities or hospitals or elsewhere.

“Those numbers are the basis for the partial count that the department does make public – which stood at 6,639 as of Aug. 29, but omits potentially thousands of residents who died in hospitals," Hammond said.

Hammond said the “unusual methodology" is used by few if any other states and gives the public a “distorted picture of the pandemic."

We think that given these circumstances, the failure of Governor Cuomo's administration to respond in a timely manner to the group's request for the public information under the state's Freedom Of Information Law, can legitimately be claimed to be stonewalling.