Washington, DC – Today Congressman John Joyce, M.D. (PA-13) and fellow Republicans asked Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro for answers on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 nursing home guidance and requested a report on the admittance of COVID-19 positive individuals in long-term care facilities.
“The Wolf Administration’s decision to admit COVID-19 positive individuals to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities undoubtably cost lives. Nearly a year later, we still do not understand the full consequences of this tragic policy,” said Dr. Joyce. “Grieving families deserve answers. It’s time for the truth to be brought into the light, and I urge Attorney General Shapiro to release a transparent and honest report on this policy’s impact on Pennsylvania’s long-term care facilities.”
Dr. Joyce and Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-9) were joined by fellow Pennsylvania members of the U.S. House of Representatives including Congressman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-15), Congressman Mike Kelly (PA-16), Congressman Scott Perry (PA-10), Congressman Lloyd Smucker (PA-11), Congressman Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14), and Congressman Fred Keller (PA-12).
“One of the primary causes of the large number of nursing home fatalities in New York was the state government’s order that nursing homes admit COVID-19 positive individuals. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) issued a similar guidance on March 18, 2020, requiring that nursing homes allow new admissions and re-admissions, including individuals that had been diagnosed with COVID-19,” they wrote. “Public reporting from PA DOH indicates that more than half of the COVID-19 related deaths in Pennsylvania have been attributable to nursing and personal home care populations.”
photo credit Facebook – @PaAttorneygen
