Senator Jordan calls on NYS Department of Health to require COVID-19 testing for Health Inspectors before Nursing Home visits

On Thursday, Senator Daphne Jordan sent a letter to NYS Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker asking that DOH require its health inspectors to begin following state requirements and receive COIVD-19 testing – and be cleared as not having COVID – before their admittance to a nursing home or adult care facility.

In her correspondence, Senator Jordan wrote the following: "Nursing homes need to see proof of their negative timely tests. These are reasonable, rational, fact-based requests that the health professionals at DOH should readily accede to.
Throughout the Coronavirus crisis, Rensselaer County, County Executive Steve McLaughlin, and Van Rensselaer Manor Rehabilitation & Nursing Home, have continually taken extraordinary steps to protect and ensure the health, safety, and well-being of residents, especially senior citizens who are among the most at-risk from death or extreme illness due to COVID-19 exposure. The fact that there has only been a solitary case of COVID-19 at the Van Rensselaer Manor Nursing Home since the outbreak began, illustrates the hard work, dedication, and forward-thinking of the facility staff and Rensselaer County’s continued, rigorous adherence to health and safety protocols."

A copy of Senator Jordan's letter to NYSDOH is attached with this post.