18 March 2021: NY Nursing Homes "More Petrified" of NY DOH Than COVID

Cuomo order to take in COVID-19 patients 'petrified' New York nursing home administrator

This report discusses how the Cuomo administration's toxic culture was imposed onto New York's nursing homes, which were forced to comply with the New York Department of Health's deadly 25 March 2020 directive:

A Staten Island nursing home administrator told Fox News in an exclusive interview that he and executives at other facilities were "petrified" by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's infamous March 2020 order that COVID-positive patients be placed in long-term care facilities rather than hospitals.

However, Michael Kraus told Fox News correspondent Aishah Hasnie that his concerns were "shot down" by state officials.

Fox News has posted a brief excerpt from Aishah Hasnie's interview with Staten Island nursing home administrator Michael Kraus, which will air later today. He describes raising concerns for bringing COVID patients into nursing home facilities with state DOH officials, then being shot down into silence:

The resulting catastrophe among New York's nursing home residents did not happen by accident. It took a concerted effort by many in New York's state government to make it happen.

PM Update: New York nursing home whistleblower: Cuomo's order was 'ridiculous,' warned officials 'we can't be doing this'

Here's a report of the interview:

Michael Kraus, the administrator of the Silver Lakes Specialized Care Center in Staten Island, said he immediately raised the alarm after first hearing about the March 25, 2020, order in a conference call with other directors, hospital leaders and state officials.

"I said that's ridiculous. We can't be doing this. It's just not right to the residents," Kraus told Fox News in an exclusive interview with correspondent Aishah Hasnie that aired Thursday on "America Reports."

"And you vocalized that on these phone conversations?" Hasnie asked.

"I did vocalize it," Kraus said. "And then once it was shot down, I never spoke again."

Kraus -- for the first time -- revealed what happened behind the scenes following the controversial directive in New York, where more than 15,000 people are confirmed to have died in state nursing homes and long-term care facilities from COVID-19.

Kraus describes why nursing homes could not obtain supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect their staffs and residents:

At the time the initial order was in place -- with the coronavirus rapidly spreading throughout New York City -- Kraus says found his facility in the midst of the PPE shortage, as "our suppliers [who] would normally send us the PPE were not allowed to send us our full order."

"Why?" Hasnie asked.

"Because they were guided, they must sell to the hospital first," Kraus said. "So we were rationed, if we would order a large order, they would maybe give us 20%. And they just said they weren't allowed to sell us more."

If you ever wanted to know what life would be like with single payer health care, Governor Cuomo's New York during the coronavirus pandemic provides a good example of how it works.