Governor Gavin Newsom. (Photo: Kevin Sanders for California Globe)
CA Gov. Newsom and 4 Other Dem Governors Under Investigation For Nursing Home Virus Deaths
Republican members of House Oversight Committee investigating the five Democratic governors
By Katy Grimes, April 2, 2021 2:13 am
Last year, in April 2020, California Globe reported the California Department of Public Health was suspending nursing home relegations to allow for COVID-19 patients to be “discharged to a Skilled Nursing Facility when clinically indicated.” This directive was ordered despite too many stories about nursing home infections, deaths surge amid lockdown measures, and in San Bernardino County, “Dozens of residents of California nursing home hit with COVID-19 and 2 have died.”
Following deadly COVID outbreaks in nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities, they were under a strict lockdown, and not even allowing spouses and family to visit elderly loved ones.
California Globe contacted the Department of Public Health and asked, “Is the CDPH suspending the very regulations that keep patients safe from abuse and incompetence?” and “Does this mean COVID-19 patients may be sent to nursing facilities?”
The response from the public health department included links to more directives.
Then U.S. Justice Department announced in August 2020 it was considering investigating whether four states led by Democratic governors violated the civil rights of the elderly by requiring nursing homes to admit coronavirus patients, a practice which critics say led to thousands of deaths, Yahoo News reported. “The department said it was seeking COVID-19 data related to nursing homes from four states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan.”
The Globe said at the time that the DOJ needed to add California to this investigation. But nothing happened.
Thursday, Republican members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee announced they are investigating five Democratic governors for their decision to mandate nursing homes to take untested, if not COVID-19 positive, patients during the pandemic, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is one of those being investigated.
“The five Democratic governors, most of the leading Trump administration antagonists in some of the blue states where the coronavirus caused the most infections and deaths in the U.S., received letters, Newsmax reported:
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
- New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
- Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf.
“This is shaping up to be an investigation into whom to blame for nursing home deaths, the federal government or the Democratic states that forced nursing homes to take COVID-19 patients before they were prepared to handle them, according to the GOP members of the House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis,” Newsmax reported.
“We write to you seeking information, at a granular level, about the science and information used to inform your decision to mandate nursing homes and long-term care facilities admit untested and contagious COVID-19 patients from hospitals,” the letters, obtained by Newsmax TV’s Robinson, read. “This decision likely contributed to the thousands of elderly deaths in [state specific].”
Back in August 2020, the Globe reported:
“We’ve learned that COVID patients are worth $800 per day, compared to the $200 per day for long-term patients with mild health concerns or dementia,” the Globe reported. “It is not a stretch to see that COVID patients are a money maker for nursing homes.”
“With coordinated news reports curiously now claiming there will be another spike in COVID, what better way to ensure the spiked numbers than by sending COVID patients into nursing homes? It’s a death sentence to the elderly.”
California Globe contacted the California Department of Public Health in March and asked, “Is the CDPH suspending the very regulations that keep patients safe from abuse and incompetence?” and “Does this mean COVID-19 patients may be sent to nursing facilities?”
CDPH answered the first question but not the second question. The April 1 directive states only “Patients with no clinical concern for COVID-19 may be transferred from hospitals to SNFs following usual procedures.”
As the Globe reported, “The bottom line is that the California Department of Public Health was directing skilled nursing facilities to take in COVID-19 patients, but at what cost and why with plenty of hospital beds available? California never experienced a surge or spike of COVID patients. CDPH acknowledges that the elderly patients already in skilled nursing facilities are ‘California’s most vulnerable,’ so why would they send any COVID-19 patients to facilities with the most frail and vulnerable patients?”
The letters requesting the investigation into the five governors are signed by the five GOP members on the 12-member subcommittee:
- Rep. Scalise.
- Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
- Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo.
- Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind.
- Rep. Mark E. Green, R-Tenn.
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Yes, well all five governors on the list certainly deserve investigation. Too bad the investigation is only about the nursing homes, which, no doubt, is important. They are all very bad governors who abuse not only nursing home patients but the citizens of their states as well since none of them embrace or follow the U.S. Constitution or their own state’s constitutions and all have a really bad reputation for being draconian in their approach to health issues.
Thank you Katy. Folks, the mainstream media won’t let you know about this.
I agree John! Thank you Katy!
I certainly hope that some branch of the government will hold these Governors responsible for their decisions! Show us the “science” used to make your decisions that killed many of our frail elderly. Civil rights violations must be investigated and those involved must be held accountable for knowingly doing so without merit! I have to say the best decision Newsom’s personnel has made is to stop his weekly press conferences after his state of the state address. With the recall looming over his head, his personnel knows every time he opens his mouth something STUPID comes out. The Democratic way is to hide, avoid press, avoid transparency, and run away from the truth or any issues related to the truth. Just like the border. Keep the recall Gavin chatter alive, we cannot let this get quiet while waiting for the election.
It’s true, Charles and John. This is an extremely serious matter. It’s a relief that Newsom has also appeared on their radar for investigation.
Gov Newsom hiding in the basement, Stacy. Never thought I’d see the day.
I doubt this will ever happen because Dems and Republican are always trying to protect the rears instead oof what’s good for the country.
Comrade Chumps
Investigation is a soothing nothing burger….wise up….you’re worked, as usual.
He knows exactly why we have huge gas hikes and so do all Republicans! Closing the pipe lines, then selling oil to China and Russia and they sell it back to us several times higher than what they paid for it.
If it’s just the Republicans conducting this, it’s not much of an investigation as they’re in the minority, don’t control the committee, and have no subpoena power on their own. I suspect these states will just blow them off.
Lake View Terrace skilled nursing facility had a lawsuit for dumping patients to accept covid patients. Glad this is finally being investigated, and the Globe documented the procedure.
In California, cal/OSHA was underfunded and they never did follow up with employers about covid-19 employees testing positive. When Newsom had patients sent to nursing home and disabled facilities they couldn’t end the problem because their employees were being allowed to work at multiple locations and were testing positive and cal/osha wasn’t tracking the positivity rate(s). It was not legal to allow workers to work at multiple locations and it spread the disease throughout the homes, throughout the city, and throughout employees personal residences.
I keep thinking that overtime pay is likely the reason staff work at more than one facility. For employees who want more hours both employees and employer would probably rather it be at one facility. Too many unwanted rules. I had liked my 4 10 work schedule but OT rules forced it back to 8 hour days.
Maybe they can use this as an OPENING gambit, and then expand their investigation into the voter fraud that ALSO took place under their draconian Covid-19 responses that enabled Biden & Harris to be installed.
See a correlation here???
Create the problem, force a “solution” or “relief”, then ram central planning down everyone’s throats….
Comrades
And then a new blue ribbon committee……this is beyond laughable….investigation is code word for….round file.